Assessment of Bacteria Contamination of Ready-To-Use Cutlery in The Cafeteria of A Tertiary Institution in Nigeria

Abstract

The domestic kitchen is increasingly being recognized as the most important area in relation to the incidence of food-borne disease. Incidence of food- borne disease highlights the issue of food hygiene preparation, which includes factors which include kitchen utensils and equipment. Every tertiary institution has its own canteen. Food-borne infections in cafeterias can result from utensils carrying pathogens. These microorganisms have the ability to attach to surfaces and with high cell density with biofilms. That is, bacteria can be present in large numbers even on kitchen equipment that looks clean. This study was undertaken to determine bacteriological quality of cutlery of ten restaurants in a University in Ondo state, Nigeria. A descriptive designed study was undertaken where one hundred and fifty (150) cutlery samples were collected using swab sticks and cultured in appropriate media and the bacteria isolated were identified according to their morphological and biochemical characteristics. A profile of four (4) different bacterial species, including Staphylococcus aureus (40%), Klebsiella spp (60%), Escherichia coli (60%), and Pseudomonas spp. (30%) were isolated. The result suggests high levels of bacterial contaminants in the cafeteria and calls for improved personal and environmental hygiene.