Abstract:
A study to assess the microbiological status of street foods (ready-to-eat foods and
beverages) sold in local market of Itahari municipality was carried out. Eight different
samples of each six various street foods along with eight water samples were collected and
analysed. Microbiological analysis revealed the average TPC to be 3.00x102
, 6.22x105
,
1.73x105
, 4.62x103
, 7.44x103
and 6.51x105
cfu/g in momo, chatpate, panipuri, aluchop,
pyaji and dahibada samples respectively. Similarly, the total coliform counts were
1.64x101
, 1.14x104
, 8.14x103
, 3.78x102
, 9.03x102
and 9.08x103
cfu/g in momo, chatpate,
panipuri, aluchop, pyaji and dahibada samples respectively. Salmonella was not detected
in any of the samples. The average value for the total plate count and total coliform count
of water samples were found to be 1.28x102
and 3.74x101
cfu/g respectively.
Microbiological analysis also showed that 8.3% of samples had unsatisfactory quality in
total plate count and 89.6% in coliform count. There were significant differences in
microbial load within the samples and sample types collected from different locations,
indicating the hygienic practice (keeping other things constant) in the street food stalls
being significantly different.
