Microbial quality and antimicrobial residue of local and industrial processed fruit juice sold in Tamale, Ghana

Abstract

Fruits are essential part of human nutrition that provides numerous health benefits. When processed into juice, they are either packaged and stored or consumed immediately. Some reports associate foodborne illness with consumption of natural beverages contaminated with pathogenic microbes. Also, concerns of antimicrobial resistance due to antimicrobial residues in fruit juices has been raised. Thus, this study assessed the microbial quality of fruit juice by determining the incidence and load of E. coli and Salmonella spp., and the presence of antimicrobial residues in locally processed fruit juices (n = 25) and industrially (n = 3) processed fruit juices sold in Tamale, Ghana. Spread plate technique was adopted for isolation and enumeration of bacteria whilst the Premi® test kit was employed for detecting the presence of antimicrobial residue. Neither E. coli nor Salmonella spp. is recorded in all three industrially processed fruit juice samples. However, the locally processed fresh fruit juice samples recorded a prevalence rate of 88% E. coli and 40% Salmonella spp. with microbial load of 1.3 × 104 cfu/ml—9.23 × 104 cfu/ml for E. coli which is above the acceptable limits. Antimicrobial residues were absent in all 28 samples analyzed. The incidence and high E. coli load found in the local fresh fruit juice is of concern. Future studies should elucidate the pathogenicity of the isolates. Also, to avert possible foodborne illness linked with the consumption of local fresh fruit juices within Tamale and to ensure food safety, increase public health surveillance is recommended.

Effect of Pasteurization and Storage Temperatures on the Quality of Carrot Juices

“…It could be attributed to high temperature involved in pasteurization which killed a lot of microbes present in carrot juice. This report was in agreement with the findings of Jimma et al 26 In addition, low temperature storage could also have contributed to reducing the microbial load of the carrot juices. Kaddumukasa et al 27 , reported a similar trend in a related study.…”

Foodborne Microbiological Hazards in Ghana: A Scoping Review

“…It was most detected in RTE vegetable salads, cabbage, lettuce, raw beef, raw chicken, raw goat meat, “Hausa koko”, “khebab,” as well as fresh and smoked fishes, with individual prevalence ranging from 2.1% to 100%. 23 - 41 , 44 , 46 , 48 , 50 - 55 , 57 , 60 - 62 , 64 - 67 , 69 , 74 , 75 , 77 - 83 The highest prevalence (100%) was recorded in lettuce and cabbage samples from a vegetable farm in Kumasi. 26 Staphylococcus spp.…”

“… 25 Salmonella spp. was reported by 32% (23/72) 23 - 25 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 35 , 36 , 38 , 44 , 50 , 51 , 53 , 58 , 60 , 66 , 74 , 76 , 78 , 80 - 83 from foods such as raw beef, chicken, chevon, salad, mixed spices, and locally produced fruit juices. The prevalence of Salmonella spp.…”

“…Other bacteria reported from RTE foods in this study included Klebsiella spp., Shigella spp., Salmonella spp., Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus spp., Streptococcus spp., and Staphylococcus spp. 23 - 25 , 28 , 30 , 39 , 41 , 49 , 53 , 54 , 57 , 60 , 62 , 65 - 67 , 70 , 74 . In this review, it was found that locally prepared drinks such as “asaanaa” and “sobolo” contained these harmful microorganisms, with many exceeding the acceptable limits set for RTE foods.…”

Molecular Methods for Detecting Microorganisms in Beverages

“…The short shelf life increases the risk of contamination of such a product by pathogenic microorganisms. Special attention is paid to freshly squeezed juices, since they do not undergo a pasteurization process and are infected with microbial pathogens more often than others [90,91]. The main pathogenic bacterial species polluting fruit juices include Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella typhi, and Staphylococcus aureus, as well as members of the genera Shigella, Pseudomonas, and Alicyclobacillus (Figure 2C) [92,93].…”