ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MICROORGANISMS IN KITCHEN CUTTING BOARD

Kitchen cutting board is a durable board in which materials are placed for cutting. Eight (8) samples were collected from different kitchen cutting board in Ozoro metropolis of Delta state to ascertain the level of microbial contamination. The microorganisms isolated from kitchen cutting board are Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella spp, Candida albican, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium spp and Mucor spp. The total bacteria count ranges from 0.3*101 to 9.2*103 with E.coli having the highest percentage occurrence of 41.7% while Klebsiella spp. has the least percentage occurrence of 25.0% in all samples. The fungi count ranges from 0*101 to 3.1*103 with Candidas albican having the highest percentage occurrence of 45.5% while Mucor spp has the least percentage occurrence of 9.1%. The result obtained from this study shows that kitchen cutting board is contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms. Proper washing of the kitchen cutting board before and after use should be practiced. Key words: Isolation, Characterization, Kitchen, Microorganism, cutting boar