Effect of Storage and Consumer Handling on Staphylococcal Counts of Dried Beef and Dried Fish

Abstract

Changes in staphylococcal counts of dried beef and dried fish during storage and while exposed to prospective buyers in a Nigerian market were investigated. The mean staphylococcal counts in dried beef and dried fish were 9.9 × 105 and 4.6 × 106 colony-forming units (CFU)/g and the mean aerobic plate counts were 2.0 × 107 and 1.2 × 108 CFU/g, respectively. Over a 28-d storage period at room temperature, the mean staphylococcal count declined about 100-fold for both products, i.e., from 9.9 × 105 to 3.0 × 103 CFU/g in dried beef and 4.6 × 106 to 2.2 × 104 CFU/g in dried fish. The decline in aerobic plate counts were from 2.0 × 107 to 6.5 × 104 CFU/g for dried beef and 1.2 × 108 to 1.4 × 105 CFU/g for dried fish, about a 1000-fold decline. Market samples of both products, though from the same batch but exposed to handling by prospective buyers, consistently showed higher staphylococcal contamination over the study period. Consumption of these products repeatedly exposed to human handling in the market for long periods may be a health hazard, particularly those that are ready-to-eat.