Chicken is an excellent source of good quality protein, but it is highly susceptible to microbial contamination and often implicated in food borne disease. The microbiological quality of chicken at different retail outlets (supermarkets, local markets and farms) in Accra was investigated, and D 10 -values of E. coli in refrigerated and frozen retailed chicken was determined. The microbiological quality of chicken was studied by analyzing 27 chicken thigh samples collected from the retail outlets. D 10 -value of Escherichia coli was determined by using a linear regression model after gamma irradiation of inoculated chicken samples with doses of 0, 150, 300, 450, 600, 750 and 900 Gy. Mean total viable counts for the supermarkets, local markets and farms were 6.46, 6.91 and 6.57 log 10 cfu/g respectively. Mean total coliform counts for the supermarkets, local markets and farms were 3.80, 3.46 and 3.14 log 10 cfu/g respectively and the mean S. aureus counts were also 2.32, 2.28 and 2.70 log 10 cfu/g respectively. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) between the mean total viable count, total coliform counts and S. aureus count for the supermarkets, local markets and the farms. Mean counts of E. coli detected at the supermarket, local markets and farms were 1.27, 2.59 and 2.74 log 10 cfu/g respectively. Salmonella spp. was detected in 2 out of the 27 samples. Fifty-two percent and 70% of samples respectively had total viable counts and total coliform counts within the microbial safety standards. Mean D 10 -values of E. coli were 0.22 and 0.32 kGy in refrigerated and frozen chicken respectively. Presence of pathogenic bacteria in fresh chicken sold in some retail outlets in Accra was confirmed. Low D 10 -values of E. coli especially under refrigerated conditions suggest susceptibility to low dose irradiation and possibility of controlling spoilage and pathogenic microflora of fresh poultry.

Abstract:In an effort to improve upon tomato varieties on the Ghanaian market, this study was carried out to identify genotypes with desirable qualities for further breeding work. The study was executed by crossing some varieties of Solanum lycopersicon; cherry red, cherry yellow, roma and wosowoso with a wild tomato, Solanum pimpinellifolium. The progenies were cultivated for four generations to obtain these lines. Fruits harvested from these lines of F 4 were analysed for the following physico-chemical properties; dry matter, pH, total titratable acidity, total soluble solids and vitamin C. The total soluble solids and total titratable acidity were used to deduce flavour and sweetness indices for the fruits. Significant (p<0.05) differences were observed among and within the various breeding lines. The dry matter, pH and total soluble solids of the fruits ranged from 5.21-8.43%, 4.08-4.59 and 4.00-7.80% respectively. Total titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, flavour and sweetness indices also ranged from 0.35-0.88%, 16.84-46.09 mg/100g, 0.07-0.16 and 5.33-13.64 respectively. In all wosowoso breeding lines were the most promising of all the breeding lines. Most of the progenies obtained had characteristics significantly (p<0.05) different from each other and then from those of their respective parents (controls). This shows that the various lines were still in the process of segregating and had not yet attained the status of pure lines.

Combined effect of irradiation and frozen storage on viable bacteria and inoculated Eschericia coli in chicken was investigated. Samples of uninoculated chicken and samples of chicken inoculated with E. coli were irradiated using a Co-60 source at doses of 0, 2 ,4,6 and 8 kGy and stored for 0, 7,14,21,28, 35, 42, 49 and 56 days at -18 0 C. Samples were analyzed each week to enumerate surviving viable bacteria and E. coli. Irradiation doses of 2, 4, 6, and 8 kGy respectively reduced the population of viable bacteria in the uninoculated chicken by 2.06, 2.96, 3.91 and 4.21 log cycles. Storage for 56 days reduced populations of viable bacteria by approximately 2 log cycles for all irradiated uninoculated samples. Dose of 2 kGy reduced the population of E. coli in the unirradiated sample by 2.69 log cycles and 4, 6, 8 kGy reduced the population by > 7 log cycles. Storage for 56 days reduced the population of E. coli by 4.07 and > 3.52 log cycles respectively in the unirradiated and irradiated (2 kGy) samples. Irradiation doses of 4 to 8 kGy in combination with frozen storage were effective in reducing the populations of viable indigenous bacteria in addition to eliminating inoculated E. coli from chicken thus extending the shelf life and improving the hygienic quality.

The relative abundance and diversity of insect species were studied for three months, between the months of June and August 2013 on twelve different accessions of tomato (Solanum lycopersicon L.) at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission's Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute (BNARI) farm. The main objectives of the study were to determine the insect diversity and the relative abundance of the insect species on twelve tomato accessions. The field was divided into four replicates each containing twelve different accessions of tomato coded V 1 , through to V 12 . In general, there was lower abundance of insect species across tomato accessions. The study revealed higher abundance of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera, Aleyroidae) on accession V 11 followed by V 1 with V 6 having the least number. Bemisia tabaci accounted for 95.5% of the insect counts. Low diversity of insect species was observed across the field of study. B. tabaci, Omocestus viridulus, (Linnaeus) (Orthoptera, Acrididae) and Psylla mali (Schmidb) (Hemiptera, Psyllidae) were observed to occur on all the accessions. Accessions V 6 and V 11 have the highest diversity of insects while accession V 3 has the least diversity. The other major insect pests such as Aphis craccivora (Koch) (Hemiptera, Aphididae), Phenacoccus sp., Podagrica sp. and Zonocerus variegatus (Linnaeus) (Orthoptera, Pyrgomorphidae) recorded very low percentages. The highest record of insect pests was recorded at the fruiting stage of the plant's development. Fourteen different insect species were recorded giving an indication of the species diversity of the farm.

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