Bacteriological quality of garri sold in Owerri open markets, Imo state, Nigeria

Abstract

Garri as popularly known in Nigeria is a general food consumed by most people in Nigeria. It could be eaten by reconstituting it with hot water, stirred to form a thick paste and eaten with soup or stew. It could also be taken dried or mixed with cold water and sugar/milk, as a snack. As a part of check mating the public health risk associated with this general dependence of the population on garri, the bacteriological quality of garri sold in Owerri open market was examined with the aim of investigating the bacterial contamination of garri due to exposure in the market as well as establish the hygienic statue of garri taken as snacks by many Nigeria. To achieve this, a total of one hundred and ten (110) garri samples were collected from Eke-ukwu market, relief market, Eke-Mmegbu market, Orji market, IMSU gate market and some local garri processing factories within Oweri metropolis to serve as control. The samples were analyzed bacteriologically for viable heterotrophic bacteria and coliform bacteria counts on Nutrient and MacConkey agar respectively, using pour plate method. The mean value results from all the markets revealed high bacterial contamination, except from the factory. The resultant data were analyzed statistically using Chi-square to determine if there is a significant difference between the five markets. When calculated, the value of the five markets was 35.75 while the tabulated was 11.07. This implies that there was a significant difference between the five markets. Identified bacteria included: Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidenmidis, Bacilus cerus, Escherichia coli and Klebsielia aerogenes. Isolation of these bacteria is a sign of danger, hence, Imo State government is advised to take measures such as making environmental sanitation a priority project in the state to save the lives of the citizens.

Proximate and Microbial Analysis of Yellow, White and Spoilt Garri Sold in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria

“…The method reported by Obi et al [13] was used. About 1 g of each garri sample was suspended in 9mls of distilled water in a test tube, the samples were homogenized and a ten (10) fold serial dilution technique was employed by dispensing 1ml of the suspension into another 9 ml of distilled water up to the 10 th test tube. 1ml of the diluents was taken and placed on an already prepared Nutrient Agar petri dish.…”

“…Despite its nutritional benefits, the microbial growth, deterioration, and spoilage of garri pose substantial risks to public health and can lead to foodborne illnesses [8]. The production and processing of cassava to garri, along with postprocessing practices such as spreading on floors and mats after frying, displaying openly in markets, and using various packaging materials for transportation, can introduce opportunities for contamination [8][9][10].…”

“…Unhygienic practices in handling, sales, and transportation include the use of bare hands, which may contribute to microbial contamination through the deposition of bio-aerosols on exposed products and the transfer of infectious agents during these processes [8][9][10]. It is imperative to address these hygiene concerns in the production, processing, and marketing of garri to ensure its safety for consumption and to mitigate the potential health risks associated with microbial contamination.…”

Metagenomic tracking of microbial consortia of cassava flakes (garri)

“…For more than three decades now, contamination of the most popular cassava food products in West Africa including Nigeria has become a topical issue eliciting great deal of public concern (Thomas et al, 2012;Aguoru et al, 2014;Lawali et al, 2015;Okafor et al, 2018). This cassava food product known as garri in several West African states has been reported to be variously contaminated by different xerophilic moulds in Nigeria (Egbuobi et al, 2015;Lawali et al, 2015;Orpin et al, 2020), Kenya (Gacheru et al, 2016;Orpin et al, 2020), Liberia (Awoyale et al, 2017) and other African countries. Several other studies also documented avalanche of bacteria in this important cassava food product (Egbuobi et al, 2015;Gacheru et al, 2016;Okafor et al, 2018).…”

“…This cassava food product known as garri in several West African states has been reported to be variously contaminated by different xerophilic moulds in Nigeria (Egbuobi et al, 2015;Lawali et al, 2015;Orpin et al, 2020), Kenya (Gacheru et al, 2016;Orpin et al, 2020), Liberia (Awoyale et al, 2017) and other African countries. Several other studies also documented avalanche of bacteria in this important cassava food product (Egbuobi et al, 2015;Gacheru et al, 2016;Okafor et al, 2018).…”