Study on Bacteriological Quality of Street-Vended and Expired Food Items Collected from Different Areas in Dhaka City, Bangladesh

Abstract

. Street-vended foods are readily available sources of meals for many people around the world. However, the microbial safety of such food is always doubtful. In developing countries the major sources of food-borne illnesses are from street-vended foods. Again packaged foods are also detrimental to health if it is expired. The present research work was therefore untaken to find out the presence of enteric bacteria specially E.coli, , Salmonella, Shigella and Vibrio species from different types of expired and street-vended food items collected from different areas of Dhaka city, Bangladesh. Five agar media MacConkey, Tryptone Bile X-glucoronide (TBX) agar, Thiosulfate Citrate Bile Saltsucrose (TCBS) agar, Brilliant Green Agar (BGA) and Xylose-Lysine Desoxycholate agar (XLD) were used to observe the presence of our targeted microorganisms in food items. Seven biochemical tests were performed to indentify the targeted organisms. The tests are KIA, citrate, motility, indole, ornithine, urease, and oxidase test. Out of total 35 food samples (expired and street) we have found the presence of enteric bacteria in 17 (48.6%) food samples containing E.coli, Vibrio, shigella and Salmonella species. All these enteric pathogens could be the potential cause for foodborne illnesses. So, government should take necessary steps to prevent the sale of expired food and unhygienic street food; as well as consumers also should be careful and cautious in purchasing foods to ensure their own health safety.