Microbial quality of processed water melon fruit sold in Koforidua Market in Ghana (Published)
Most fresh-cut vendors on the streets are not formally educated on the hygienic way of food processing. It was suspected that fresh-cut water melon that has been processed by these vendors may be contaminated with microorganisms. Five fresh-cut water melon fruit vendors were randomly selected and samples were taken from them in three replicates. The samples were analyzed for fungi and bacteria. All samples were incubated aerobically at a temperature of 37°C for 24-48 hours. All bacteria counts were transformed to log10 colony forming units(cfu). The results were subjected to analysis of variance using Post Hoc Test. The results indicated that the fresh cut water melon contain fungi, and other bacteria such as Salmonella aureus, Enterobacter spp, Citrobacter, Klebsiella pneumonia, E. Coli, Aspergillus spp, salmonella, Shigella and Aspergillus spp. In conclusion fresh-cut water melon sold in Koforidua market could be a potential source of bacterial infection to consumers.
Keywords: contamination and bacteria, fresh-cut fruit, watermelon