Incidence of Faecal coliforms Isolated From Different Foods Sold Locally in Nsukka, Enugu State

Sixty-six (66) food products and ten water samples were collected from food vendors and restaurants and examined for bacteriological quality using both the most probable number (MPN) technique and the plate count of Escherichia coli on Eosin Ethylene Blue (EMB) and lactose fermenters on MacConkey agar. All results obtained were analyzed using ANOVA and Duncan’s multiple range test. Out of the 66 food samples, 55.6% were positive for Escherichia coli as follows: beans (22.6%), Yam (44.4%), garri (50%) pears (83.3%), cassava “foo-foo” (16.7%), “abacha” (83.3%), “okpa” (56%), rice (56%), “agidi” (83.3%) and moi-moi (66.7%). Out of the ten water samples, six were also positive for Escherichia coli. Escherichia coli high proportion of food (75.9%) and water (80%) respectively showed the presence of coliforms in general including Escherichia coli Geometric mean count (GMC) for MPN ranged from 1-180 and GMC for coliforms in various foods ranged from 1.0 x 101-1.0 x 106cfu/g. About 42.4% human coliforms(Escherichia coli), 37.4% of faecal coliforms (Klebsiella pneumonia) and rest (20.2%) showed other coliforms in food and water samples.Keyword: Food, Water, Coliforms, Most Probable Number, Geometric Mean Coun