Abstract
Increment in food-borne diseases had become a major concern globally, mostly in the health and socioeconomic sectors. This work was done to appraise the microbiological status of some commonly consumed fresh fruits and vegetables, to ascertain their microbiological load and their impact on the human health. Microbial quality of seven ready to eat (fresh) fruits and nuts (water melon, pineapple, avocado pear, banana, skinned and packaged groundnut, cucumber and pawpaw) were investigated according to standard procedures. Six bacteria species, namely: Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio cholerae, Bacillus and Shigella, were isolated from each sample, by using standard procedures. Findings from the laboratory tests revealed that most of the fruits posed serious hazards and health risks to human beings. Salmonella was the most predominant bacteria in all the food samples, while Vibrio cholerae was the least predominant bacteria in all the food samples, being absent in most of the fruits samples. It was observed that skinned and packaged groundnut, water melon, cucumber and pawpaw were highly infested with pathogenic bacteria; compared to avocado pear, banana and pineapple. This portrayed that the health risks conditions resulting from ingesting packaged groundnut, water melon, cucumber and pawpaw were higher, compared to the risk of ingesting fresh avocado pear, banana and pineapple. Also the health risks assessment results revealed that children consumed higher dosages of microorganism, portraying that they are more susceptible to foodborne diseases. This research discovery had shown the necessity for better food safety surveillance structures, by the health and legal authorities to minimize the incidences of foodborne diseases and infant morbidity.