Determination of microbial quality of tsire offered for sale at Hadejia Local Government Area, Jigawa state

Abstract

Microorganisms grow on meat causing visual, textural and organoleptic changes when they release metabolites. A lot of factors affect the growth of microorganisms on meat, which include temperature, pH, water availability, presence of nutrients, gaseous requirement and atmosphere of storage. Microbial quality of raw meat and tsire sold at retail outlets from Yayari, Yankoli and Matsaro of Hadejia metropolis, Jigawa State were evaluated. Three samples from each outlet were collected fortnightly into sterile plastic bags, stored at 4°C in ice chest filled with ice and transported immediately to the laboratory for Total Viable Count (TVC), Total Coliform Count (TCC), Total Staphylococcus Count (TCS) and Total Fungal Count (TFC) analyses using Nutrient Agar, Mac Conkey Agar, Mannitol Salt Agar and Potato Dextrose Agar, respectively. They were incubated at 37°C for 24 hours except for the detection of fungi, which was incubated at 25°C for 5 days. Tsire samples collected from Matsaro had the highest TVC (6.0 x 10⁴) while that from Yankoli had the highest TCS (4.0x10²). The study concluded that tsire sold at Hadejia Local Government Area was safe for consumption, due to its less microbial load.