Bacteriological Quality of Beef Sold at different Retail Points in Owo Metropolis

The present study aimed to investigate the bacteriological characteristics of fresh beef sold in various retail centers within the Owo communities, located in Ondo State, Nigeria. Samples were collected from six different locations using a systematic random sampling method, with two samples collected from each location—one in the morning (M) and the other in the evening (E). The standard procedure for isolating microorganisms was followed. Morphological and biochemical characterization of isolates are presented in Table 1, while Table 2 displays bacterial counts on the fresh beef samples over a period of ten days. On the first day of analysis, the sample from Ikare Junction exhibited the highest bacterial counts (152 x 105cfu/g for the morning sample and 276 x 105cfu/g for the evening sample), which was statistically significant (p±>0.05). Conversely, the sample from Ehin-ogbe had the lowest bacterial count (36 x 105cfu/g) in the morning, while the sample from Ijebu had 116 x 105cfu/g in the evening. There was a noteworthy (p±>0.05) disparity between morning and evening samples across all locations, with the evening samples consistently showing higher bacterial counts. This discrepancy could be attributed to prolonged exposure to contamination over time. Table 1 also revealed the probable organisms according to the biochemical and morphological characterization of the isolates. The isolates were E. coli, Enterobacter spp., Serratia spp., Citrobacter spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidemidis, Bacillus subtilis, K. preumomiae, Lactobacillus spp., Leuconostoc spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis, Preteus mirabilis, Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. The presence of these organisms in fresh beef depicts a deplorable state of poor hygienic and sanitary practices employed in the slaughtering and processing of fresh beef. Their presence indicates a public health hazard and gives a warning signal for the possible occurrence of food-borne intoxication. Proper hygiene practices should be observed during handling, marketing, and calls for concerted efforts on the part of relevant authorities to check the trend since it is a public health challenge.