Research Publications (Food Safety)

Yoghurt is one of the best sources of probiotics and its importance to the human gastrointestinal system provides a perfect food matrix for transporting probiotics to the body. Unfortunately, animal milk dominates the typical commercial yoghurt; hence, the need to produce probiotic yoghurt from plant milk. This paper has outlined a new yoghurt analogue, made from a mixture of plant-based materials and analyzed their probiotic potentials, microbial assay and Antibiotic susceptibility.

The charmout is a meat product obtained by drying meat and used in the preparation of sauces in some Sahelian countries. However, charmout is produced and sold under unhygienic conditions. It is therefore susceptible to contamination by pathogenic and toxigenic microorganisms. The objective of this study was to isolate and identify bacterial and fungal strains contaminating charmout produced and sold in six localities in Chad. Thus, 30 samples were collected in 6 production localities.

Consumers are becoming vegan, vegetarian, or flexitarian due to the factors such as a healthy lifestyle, and growing environmental concerns. Circumstances like this have cumulatively driven the global nuts and dried fruits market. Thereby, this study aims to review two nuts (almond and cashew nut) in terms of processing effect on their quality attributes, nutritional value, phytochemical composition, and significant health advantages.

Microbiological quality, targeting contamination with Escherichia coli, of ready-to-eat spicy meat product, “Suya” retailed in Ogbete Main Market (Location 1) and Oye Emene Market (Location 2), in Enugu, Nigeria was evaluated. Forty-eight samples of the “suya,” in forms of beef, liver, intestine, and chicken, were homogenized and serially diluted with sterile distilled water and plated into Eosin Methylene Blue agar using Pour Plate Technique.

The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of different thermal pasteurization methods on (1) the survival of the total aerobic bacteria, E. coli O157: H7, in camel milk, and (2) the camel milk components such as the fatty acid profile, lipid peroxidation, protein fractions, and the composition of volatile compounds. Samples of camel milk (N=9) were pasteurized at 65°C/30 min (PAST-1), 72°C/5 min (PAST-2), and 80°C/15 min (PAST-3). The survival of E.

This study evaluated the effect of varied culture conditions (Temperature, pH, and Sodium Chloride concentration) on bacteriocin production by Lactobacillus fermentum strain COE20 isolated from fermenting African oil bean seeds (Pentaclethra macrophylla Benth) using Response Surface Methodology (RSM).

The use of drugs and antibiotics has increased the resistance of pathogenic bacteria in both animals and humans. This has been a significant problem and therefore triggers the investigation of novel antimicrobial agents produced by a bacterial strain of low virulence and having antimicrobial activity with a wide range of clinical significance. The use of bacteriocin has been extensively used in food industries, animals, and pharmaceutical industries.

The aim of this research was to examine bacteriological quality of some ready-to-eat foods that were served in some food centres in Zaria. Samples of jollof rice, pounded yam and melon seed soup were collected from three categories of food service centres and enumerated on selective media for the isolation of Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of spray washing with aqueous based solution of cinnamaldehyde (CA) and CA plus lactic acid (LA) in reducing aerobic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, E.coli and Salmonella from the grain surface of bovine hide so that the developed solutions can potentially be used to decontaminate the cattle carcasses to ensure meat safety.

This study was carried out to assess the sanitary quality of processed (fried) freshwater clam (Galatea paradoxa), sold in Yenagoa metropolis, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. “Water snail” as it is popularly called is vended by women and children. This delicacy is widely consumed in Yenagoa and its environs. Sixteen (16) Samples were collected randomly from four different hawkers within the Swali market in Yenagoa.

This study aimed to evaluate the physicochemical and bacteriological characteristics of different types of banana wine (Urwagwa) produced in Southern province of Rwanda. Both conventional (not bottled i.e from Bulinga (B) and Gahogo (GA)) and modern produced banana (bottled i.e Igisubizo from Ruli (I) and Ganzinyota from Ruvumera (G)) wines were analyzed and compared.

Honey sold in Awka market is supplied from within and outside Anambra State, Nigeria. The quality from identified sellers in the market was evaluated and compared with honey from two floral regions in the state and some reported international standards. Analyses were carried out on the proximate composition, some mineral elements, physical properties, microbial counts and inhibition activities, and organoleptic qualities using standard methods.

A study was undertaken to investigate and model the effect of inoculum size on the thermal inactivation of Salmonella to elimination in ground chicken by conduction heating. To develop the model, ground chicken thigh meat portions (0.76 cm3) in microcentrifuge tubes were inoculated with 2.0, 3.6, or 5.2 log of a single strain of Salmonella Typhimurium followed by cooking for 0 to 10 min at 52 to 100°C in a heating block.

Oysters are filter-feeding organisms that tend to concentrate any suspended materials in its surrounding water including pathogenic bacteria. Since most oysters are eaten as raw or slightly cooked, they can act as vectors for pathogenic microorganisms and thus impose health risks to consumers. Depuration is one of the methods to reduce pathogenic bacteria in oysters to make it safe for sale and consumption.

In this study, the possibility to release bioactive peptides from camel milk using heat treatments and fermentation of camel milk was investigated. Camel milk was heated at 80°C for 30, 60, 90 and 120min. Samples of yoghurts after their fermentation and during storage were determined for proximate physicochemical and bioactive activities.

Four species of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus sajor-caju, Pleurotus pulmonarius and Pleurotus populinus) were evaluated for their antimicrobial and antioxidant capacity (total antioxidant activity). The total antioxidant activity differed significantly. Mean total antioxidant activities were (P.ostreatus = 35.36±0.01mm, P.sajor-caju = 32.26±0.02mm, P.pulmonarius = 28.86±0.01mm, P.populinus = 26.65±0.01mm).

Esherichia coli O157 is pathogenic strain of Esherichia coli that is known to cause diarrhoea leading to fluid loss, electrolyte imbalance and other severe complications like haemolytic uraemic syndrome. This work was therefore aimed at isolating and serologically characterising Esherichia coli O157 from human stool with the set objectives of identifying the risk factors associated with diarrhoea and determining the serological characteristics of Esherichia coli isolates.

The sweetpotato leaves are rich in phytonutrients such as polyphenolics, vitamins, protein, iron, calcium, and zinc. The sweetpotato is also selected by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration to develop in a controlled ecological life provision system as a key food basis. Therefore to find out suitable genotypes with higher phytonutrients contents and the physiological functions were compared in leaves of sixty sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas Lam.) genotypes.

Effect of phytol on the dehydrogenase activity of Staphylococcus aureus Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecalis isolated from grilled meat was examined via dehydrogenase assay using 2,3,5 – tripheny tetrazolium chloride (TTC) as the electron acceptor. The bacteria isolates were exposed to various concentrations of phytol (0-2000 μg) in a nutrient broth.

Lactobacillus plantarum strains: NGL5 and NGL7 previously identified from akamu-a lactic acid bacteria fermented maize food using PCR sequencing analysis were evaluated for inhibitory activity against Eschericia coli NCTC 11560 in fermenting ground maize slurries at 22 and 30°C, and in porridges prepared from 24 h fermented slurries. The L.