Microbiological quality of pre-cut fruits on sale in retail outlets in Nigeria

Microbiological quality of pre-cut fruits sold in retail outlets in Kano metropolis in Nigeria was evaluated. One hundred and fifty pre-cut fruit samples comprising pineapples (50), paw-paw (50) and watermelon (50) at the point of stand retail outlets were tested by standard microbiological methods to determine bacterial and parasite contamination. Out of these, 136 (90.67%) were contaminated with bacteria. Parasites were absent in all samples. The general distribution of the bacterial contaminations were; Escherichia coli 69 (46.00%), Staphylococcus aureus 29 (19.33%), Salmonella species 13 (8.67%), Proteus species 18 (12.00%), Enterobacter aerogenes 3 (2.00%), Klebsiella pneumoniae 2 (1.33%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa 2 (1.33%). Among the 50 pineapple cuts - E. coli 26, S. aureus 6, Salmonella species 7, Proteus species 9, P. aeruginosa 2; the 50 watermelon had E. coli 22, S. aureus 13, Salmonella species 3, Proteus species 5, E. aerogenes 2 and K. species 2. From 50 paw-paw cuts E. coli 21, S. aureus 10, Salmonella species 3, Proteus species 4 and E. aerogenes 1 were isolated. These findings demonstrate that microbiological quality of pre-cut fruits sampled, suggest that the risk of foodborne illness from pre-cut fruits is high. There is a need to enforce good food hygiene practices to avoid contamination of pre-cut fruits.