ABSTRACT

Safety of food is a basic requirement of food quality. A total of 25 street food samples (Jollof rice, egwusi soup, ugu, water leaf and green), were randomly purchased from five different vendors in Ogbete main market Enugu. The samples were transported in ice to the laboratory. The samples were bacteriologically analyzed using pour plate technique and sub-culture. Pour plate techniques was done by carrying out serial dilution of the sample after which the first tube and the last tube were picked and 1ml of each sample was pipette into a Nutrient agar, the plate was then incubated for 24 hours at 37oC after which the plate were examined for growth. Sub culture was done using bacteriological agar. All the screened food samples had varying levels of bacterial growth ranging from 1.0 X 105 to 3.0 X 106 cfu/ml. ninety percent of the sampled foods had bacterial counts above the acceptable limits (104 cfu/ml) and 10% of the samples had bacterial counts less than (<104 cfu/ml). Six bacterial species were isolated from the foods sampled. Staphylococcus arueus, Bacillus cereus, Vibrio spp, Salmonella spp, Escherichia coli and Shigella spp. More than one pathogenic micro organism were isolated from jollof rice and water leaf. The findings revealed that street foods are potential vehicles for transmitting food borne illnesses thus the need to develop practical strategies geared toward street food safety.