Identification of Microbiological Contamination of Ready to Eat Food Vended in Streets of Different Institutions in Dhaka City, Bangladesh

Abstract

Street vended foods are easily available sources of meals for many people but the biological safety of this type food is invariably questionable. The aim of this study was to isolate and identify the existence of enteric bacteria in various street vended foods collected from different private universities in Dhaka city. From established and moving vendors thirty food samples were collected from area around 10 private universities in Dhaka city. Food samples that were taken for bacteriological tests were shingara, alur chop, laddu, pakora, beguni, samaucha, kabab e.t.c. About three different food samples were collected from each university using cleaned polythene bags each day. These food samples were tested for the presence of presence enteric microorganisms using standard microbiological methods. For the confirmation of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp, Shigella spp, Salmonela spp, Vibrio spp biochemical tests were done. Among the thirty food samples four (13.3%) were contaminated with E. coli, one food sample (3.33%) was suspected to be contaminated with Klebsiella spp and two food samples(6.67%) were suspected to be contaminated with Vibrio spp. We have also performed colony counting of additional six food samples by standard methods. The samples were fuchka, noodles, cake, butter nun, vhelpuri, ghugni. Out of six samples maximum uncountable colonies were found in vhelpuri. These enteric pathogens present in street vended foods can be a potential cause of foodborne illnesses. Therefore the vendors need hygiene education for the handling and preparation of these street vended foods.