Abstract:
Escherichia coli and Salmonella are major foodborne pathogen causing severe disease in humans worldwide. The study was conducted to isolate, identify and characterize pathogenic E. coli and Salmonella from raw meat and offal collected from different meat vendors in Magboro, Ogun state. A total of three (3) samples were subjected to bacteriological isolation and identification, and the isolated bacteria were subjected to molecular typing. E. coli and Salmonella spp were isolated and identified by culturing on Eosin methylene blue agar, Sorbitol MacConkey agar, Xylose Lysine Deoxycholate agar respectively. Total viable count was higher at 6 Log10 Cfu/g in all the samples while the highest count of pathogenic E. coli was 6.3 Log10 Cfu/g. The E. coli isolates were positive to 16S rRNA based polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Salmonella species were found in 25 g of offal which is contrary to meat safety standards. The findings of this research project demonstrated the high level of microbial contamination and occurrence of pathogenic bacteria in raw meat and offal sold in Magboro, market, Ogun state.
