Study on Bacteriological Quality of Street-vended Foods Collected from Different Private Universities in Dhaka City, Bangladesh

Abstract

Street-vended foods are readily available sources of meals for many people around the world, but the microbial safety of such food is always doubtful. In developing countries the major sources of food-borne illnesses are street-vended foods. The present research work was therefore untaken to find out the presence of enteric bacteria specially E. coli, Klebsiella, Salmonella, Shigella and Vibrio species from different types of street-vended food items collected from different private universities of Dhaka city, Bangladesh. Five agar media MacConkey, Tryptone Bile X-glucoronide (TBX) agar, Thiosulfate Citrate Bile Salt-sucrose (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 motility, indole, ornithine, citrate, urease, oxidase and KIA test. In this study, 30 different food samples were collected from 10 private universities. Among them, we found contamination in 28 (93.3%) samples. Of which, 22 (73.3%) samples were suspected to be contaminated with our targeted organisms (E coli, Klebsiella, Shigella, Salmonella and Vibrio species). In total 22 samples, 14 (46.7%) samples were suspected to be contaminated with E coli, 14 (46.7%) with Klebsiella, 14 (46.7%) with Vibrio, 1 (3.3%) with Shigella and 1(3.3%) with Salmonella species. From the results of biochemical test we got 13 of our suspected bacteria from 13 different samples. In total, we got 5 (38%) Klebsiella, 4 (31%) Vibrio, 3 (23%) E. coli and 1 (8%) Shigella species. This study indicated that the street vended foods of Dhaka city are highly contaminated with pathogenic bacteria which can contribute to potential health risks for consumers. Regular monitoring of the quality of street foods must be practiced to avoid any food-borne illness in future. In addition, health education to improve the awareness of food vendors on food safety and hygiene practices is essential.