Author SAO supervised the research; read and approved the manuscript. Author OCE designed the study, wrote the draft, participated in the isolation, confirmation and handled the molecular aspect. Author JL handled the purchasing of samples, isolation and confirmation of isolates.

This study was aimed at determining the occurrence of Staphylococcus species in ready-to-eat (RTE) Rhynchophorus phoenicis (edible larvae) and Archachatina marginata (land snail) vended along Port Harcourt-Bayelsa route. Eighty samples from four locations were analysed employing standard techniques for proximate and microbiological analyses; virulence determination and antibiotic susceptibility. Data were statistically analyzed using ANOVA and t-test. The mean proximate results revealed the presence of protein (26.01/13.6%), lipid (18.9/3.88%), fibre (5.12/2.01%), ash (3.40/1.11%), moisture (13.47/59.5%) and carbohydrate (32.43/20.07%) for edible larvae/snail, respectively. Of the 80 samples examined, 33 (41.25%) and 52 (65.00%) had total viable bacterial counts and total staphylococcal counts above acceptable microbiological limits, respectively for RTE foods. Seven of the 81 characterized Staphylococcus produced the expected band of 950 bp with sea virulent genes while three produced expected bands of 550 bp with seb virulent genes. Three Staphylococcus aureus strains from edible larvae harboured both virulent genes. The virulent genes bearing Staphylococcus were 100% resistant to augmentin, ceftazidime and cloxacillin but showed varying resistance against ceftriaxone (57.14%), cefuroxime (28.57%), vancomycin (42.86%), oxacillin (42.86%) and cefoxitin (42.86%). The study showed that these RTE foods are potential sources of staphylococcal food poisoning in commuters; hence, food vendors need to conform to standard practice.

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Reared and wild land snail (Achantina fulica) samples were subjected to various preservative treatments including potassium aluminium sulfate (PAS, 1% wt/vol), sodium chloride (NaCl, 1% wt/vol) and lime juice filtrate (LJF, 10% vol/vol) and investigated for microbial, physico‐chemical, and shelf life characteristics during ambient temperature storage. Five bacterial genera occurred in wild while three in reared. Total viable counts of 4.15 and 4.60 log10 cfu/g were observed in reared and wild control samples on Day 0 respectively but decreased to 3.72 and 4.08 log10 cfu/g for samples treated with LJF and PAS respectively on Day 3. Changes in pH of samples were marginal. Significant (p < .05) decrease in sensory attributes occurred in all samples and became unacceptable after Day 3 except LJF preserved samples that remained acceptable till Day 9. Thus, LJF as a novel preservative is recommended for shelf life extension of both reared and wild land snails. Practical applications The results of this study indicate the practical method of preserving reared and wild land snail (Achantina fulica) to extend its shelf life using lime juice filtrate which is readily available and storage at ambient temperature (30 ± 2 °C) due to erratic power supply. This approach is to encourage median‐capacity industries and small‐medium enterprises to have access to simple technology especially in developing countries to enhance food security and food safety.

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Aims: The investigation focused on production, preservation and shelf-life study of wine from banana fruit (Musa acuminata). Study Design: This work is based on completely randomized design with two replications and the average values calculated for mean comparison. Place and Duration of Study: Food and Industrial Microbiology laboratory, Department of Microbiology, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, September, 2018 to March, 2019. Methodology: Analyses performed using standard methods were microbiological, physicochemical and sensory evaluations. Sodium benzoate concentrations of 5 and 25 ppm were used for shelf life studies. Banana ‘must’ was analyzed at 4 day intervals for 12 days while produced wine was analyzed at 5 day intervals for 25 days during storage. Results: Changes in total heterotrophic counts (THCs), total coliform counts (TCCs) and fungal counts (FCs) occurred during fermentation, resulting in maximum THCs of 5.02, TCCs of 3.60 and FCs of 8.87 log10 cfu ml-1 on days 4, 4 and 8 respectively. Acetobacter and Saccharomyces were pronounced in wine without preservative (control) throughout storage. Mean pH of ‘must’ was 5.8±0.30 while alcohol content was 0.28±0.03% on day 0 but as fermentation progressed, mean pH was reduced while mean alcohol content increased. Mean pH of wine preserved with 5 ppm varied slightly throughout storage but mean pH of control and 25 ppm preserved wine decreased from 3.7±0.20 on day 0 to 3.2±0.23 on day 25. Sensory attributes (overall acceptability) on day 12 was most preferred while during shelf-life studies, significant difference in overall acceptability of the different wines at P=.05 occurred. Wine preserved with 5 ppm had the best organoleptic quality but 25 ppm preserved wine showed the most acceptable microbial quality. Conclusion: Findings show that banana is a good substrate for wine production and 5 ppm sodium benzoate retained the qualities of the wine.

Aims: The essence of this research was to assess the microbiological quality of suya condiments/spices sold at different points in Obio/Akpor (Choba and Rumuepirikom) and Ikwerre (Aluu) Local Government Areas, Rivers State and reduction of microbial load using home microwave oven. Study Design: Completely randomized design with two replications and average values calculated. Place and Duration of Study: Food and Industrial Microbiology Laboratory, University of Port and Emadavistic Medical and Research Laboratory, Osaks House, East-West road Port Harcourt for three months. Methodology: Twelve (12) samples of already formulated suya condiments/spices were sampled from twelve different suya vendors at Choba, Rumuepirikom, and Aluu. Standard methods were used for the microbiological analyses and microbial inactivation using home microwave oven. Results: The total plate counts (log10 CFU/g) for the samples ranged from 5.35 to 6.29, 5.67 to 6.09, and 5.88 to 6.36 for samples collected from Choba, Rumuepirikom and Aluu respectively. The isolated bacteria on the basis of cultural, physiological and biochemical characteristics were identified as: Staphylococcus spp. (44.4%), Salmonella spp. (11.1%), Bacillus spp. (35.2%), Shigella sp. (1.9%), Enterobacter sp. (3.7%) and Streptococcus sp. (3.7%) from all three locations. A decrease in the microbial load was noted as exposure time increased from 0 to 60 s. (exposure to what) Conclusion: In all, suya condiments collected for this study were contaminated with bacteria of public health significance which suggest the need for microbial inactivation and an improvement in hygiene practice during processing and storage.

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