BACTERIOLOGICAL-PROFILE OF SOME VEGETABLES SOLD IN LAFIA METROPOLIS, NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA.

The bacteriological profile of fresh spinach and cabbage sold in Lafia Modern Market were analyzed in the Microbiology laboratory of Nasarawa State Polytechnic, Lafia by homogenizing 1g of the sample in 10 ml of peptone water. An aliquot from a 10-fold serial dilution was inoculated using the pour plate method into the different bacteriological medium at 37oC for 24 hours. The total number of colonies was counted and identified using standard procedures. Results indicated that spinach had the highest average bacteria count of 1.4 x104CFU/g, 9.2x103CFU/g, and 6.1x103CFU/g Nutrient agar, MacConkey agar, and Salmonella-Shigella agar respectively, while cabbage had an average bacterial count of 1.0x104CFU/g, 6.0x103CFU/g and 4.1x103 CFU/g on Nutrient agar, MacConkey agar, and Salmonella-Shigella agar respectively. The genera of the bacteria isolates identified were Streptococcus spp (8%), Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (15% each), Staphylococcus aureus (16%), Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp (23% each). These isolated bacteria are of public health importance due to their implication in food-borne illnesses. It is recommended that the hygiene level of the entire vegetable processing value chain should be improved in other to prevent or reduce bacterial contamination.