Assessment of Health Risks Related to the Consumption of Minced Meat Sandwich

The objective of this work was to assess the health risks associated with the consumption of minced meat sandwiches, sold in the informal sector in Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo. A survey on the application of hygiene rules was conducted in parallel with a bacteriological analysis of cooked minced meat. The enterobacteria isolated from this food were identified and antibiotic resistance testing was performed. The investigation revealed shortcomings in respect of basic hygiene rules, and 56% of the sandwiches analyzed were of bacteriological quality unsatisfactory. The non-compliance of the sandwiches was caused mainly by the presence total aerobic mesophilic flora (71.43%) and total coliforms (57.14%). In contrast, not all samples were contaminated with anaerobes sulfito-reducting bacteria and Salmonella. Five species of Enterobacteriaceae were identified: Escherichia coli (35.30%), Proteus vulgaris (11.76%), Klebsiella oxytoca (11.76%), Citrobacter spp. (23.53%) and Enterobacter cloacae (17.65%). Of these, 42.65% were resistant to 75% of antibiotics tested: Cefalexin (17.24%), Ceftriaxone (48.28%) and Norfloxacin (34.48%). In contrast, all strains were sensitive to Nitrofurantoin. Minced meat sandwiches sold in informal sector in Brazzaville can be source of enteropathogens, susceptible to expose consumers to foods poisonings.