Eighth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

Generally, snacks are foods which are neither nuts, fruits nor vegetables but are made and eaten as they are sold. In Nigeria, there is a vast diversity of snacks foods, from bakery products to take-away foods. They are eaten by all age groups, particularly young ones and school children. Arguably, the proliferation of snack consumption has been the result of modern lifestyles, economic recessions and increased industrialization among other factors. Although world governments have tried to improve food/snacks supply safety, the incidences of borne disease has made snack consumption a significant health issue, especially in developing nations. The World Health Organization reported that in 2005 alone, 1.8 million people died from diarrheal disease. These deaths were mostly related to the consumption of contaminated food and water. The high consumption rate of locally-made snacks in Nigeria has thus warranted the need for the determination of the microbial quality and antimicrobial properties of these foods. The study collected 7 diverse samples of traditional snacks bought from different parts of Nigeria. These samples were subjected to microbiological analysis to ascertain the presence of antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. The samples were aseptically blended and serial dilution of up to ten fold were made for the samples. The isolated were identified by conventional methods. Certain bacteria were identified from the samples: Enterrobacter spp, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, Eschericha coli, Micrococcus spp, Baccillus spp, Streptococcus faecalis and Staphyloccucus aereus. Further, the bacterial count on the snacks samples revealed that kulikuli and aadun contained the greatest bacterial load (6.6x10.7cfu/ml and 5.6 x 10.7 respectively). The antimicrobial susceptibility pattern revealed that Pseudomonas aeruginosa had the greatest resistance to virtually all the antimicrobial agents tested. This paper shows the presence of antimicrobial susceptibility patterns in locally-made snacks in Nigeria. Many studies have reported that snacks and foods prepared under unhygienic conditions are vulnerable to microbial contamination. There is an urgent need to study the pathogenicity and strain distribution of presumptive food pathogens and how they relate to the hygienic practices of snack preparations in Nigeria. Doing so could disclose the potential of food poisoning epidemics as related to snacks consumption in Nigeria.