BACTERIOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SOME NIGERIAN LOCAL FOOD DRINKS (Kunnu-zaki, Yogurt and Zobo)

Three types of African food drinks ((Kunnu-zaki (or simply Kunnu), Yogurt and Zobo)) were analysed for their bacteria characteristics including their antibiotic sensitivity.The total colony forming units was analysed using the spread plate method for the food drinks. Ten isolates were selected at random from each of the food drinks and tentatively identified in which the following cumulative genera of bacteria occurred: E.coli 10 (33.3)*, Bacillus and Streptococcus species 4(13.3). For Kunnu, out of 10 identified isolates: E.coli 5 (50)*, Bacillus out of 10 identified isolates: E.coli 3 (30)*, Bacillus and Enterococcus species 2 (20). For Zobo, out of 10 identified isolates: E.coli 2 (20)*, Bacillus Indication was that there was significant difference in the TCFU ml-1 of the food drinks (P= 0.004); ranging from 6.10E+06 to 4.23E+06 in which Kunnu was highest while Zobo was least impacted. The results of the sensitivity tests on the E.coli. indicated resistance to: Nitrofuration, Chloranphenicol, Cefuroxime and Ampicillin; Norfloxacin and Gentamicin were partially resistance while Ciprofloxacin, Tetracycline, Amoxicillin and Ofloxacin indicated sensitivity on E.coli. Also, while the drink Kunnu had two of the three Staphylococcus sp to be both tube/slide coagulase positive; Zobo had only one of the three isolates to be positive, while no Staphylococcus sp were isolated from Yogurt. The objective of the paper was therefore to conduct an investigation on the characteristics of the bacteria isolates in the drinks, especially the presence of probable veritable pathogens