Microbial Quality of Ready-to-Eat Street Vended Food Groups Sold in the Johannesburg Metropolis, South Africa

Background: In many developing countries, the risk of contracting a foodborne disease is high after consuming contaminated readytoeat StreetVended Foods (SVFs). The main objective of this research was to assess the microbiological quality of SVF groups sold in the Johannesburg Metropolis, South Africa. Methods: A stratified random sampling procedure was used for collecting the readytoeat SVF samples. Methods prescribed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) were used for analyses for aerobic colony count, Enterobacteriaceae count, presence of Escherichia coli O15:H7, detection of Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes. The bacterial isolates were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Data analysis was done using IBM SPSS Statistics V25.0. Results: Of the 205 readytoeat SVF samples, 85.37% had aerobic growth. The vast majority (78.18%) of the 110 readytoeat SVF samples had Enterobacteriaceae growth. From the 110 SVF samples, the prevalence rates of L. monocytogenes, S. aureus, Salmonella spp., and E. coli O15:H7 were 46.36, 31.8, 21.8, and 1.8%, respectively. There was no statistical significant difference (p 0.05) in the prevalence rates of L. monocytogenes, S. aureus, Salmonella spp., and E. coli O15:H7 in the various SVF groups. Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, the microbial quality and safety of readytoeat SVFs sold in the Johannesburg Metropolis remain a serious public health concern. Hence, it is necessary to educate street food vendors and enforce food safety legislation in the street food sector in the country.