MICROBIOLOGICAL ATTRIBUTES AND QUALITY OF AVIAN BASED GRINDED MEAT (DAMBUN NAMA)

Abstract

Contamination of ready-to-eat meat products has been reported by many researchers. It is an established fact that, meat and meat products provide an excellent growth medium for bacteria, yeasts, moulds and protozoans. Therefore, this study was aimed at evaluating the microbiological attributes of Avian Based grinded meat (Dambun Nama) prepared from chickens, ducks, guinea fowls and quails. Aerobic Mesophilic Plate Count (APC), Total Coliform Count (TCC) and fungal species were evaluated using standard techniques. The result shows that, the product prepared from chickens had the highest APC (2.54×103 cfu/g). However, the product prepared from chickens, ducks and guinea fowls recorded the same values for TCC (3 MPN/g), while that of quails had the lowest TCC (< 3 MPN/g). Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus were present in all the samples while the presence of Enterobacter and Klebsiella was found in the product prepared from chickens. Salmonella was only present in the product prepared from ducks. Candida, Penicillium and Rhizoctonia were detected in the product prepared from chickens while Aspergillus and Rhizoctonia were detected in that of guinea fowls and quails, respectively. It can be concluded that, the avian based grinded meat had satisfactory microbial quality. Therefore, the study recommends maintenance of personal hygiene while processing, handling and selling the products, alongside proper storage to improve its safety and shelf life.