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.

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 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.

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.

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.