Microbial Load of Canned Foods Imported Through Ibrahim Khalil International Border, Iraq

Background: Canned foods may be contaminated with microbes and primarily with spore-forming bacteria. This study was designed to give information about microbial load of canned foods imported through Ibrahim Khalil International Border, Iraq. Methods: Total of 119 samples of canned foods comprising 35 poultry meats, 40 fishes, and 44 tomato pastes were collected from Ibrahim Khalil International Border. Using conventional protocols, samples were evaluated for total plate counts (aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms), spoilage pathogenic, and coliform organisms. The obtained results were analysed by One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) suing GraphPad Prism (V.5.01). Results: The total aerobic plate counts at 37 °C incubation were 1.30±0.2 log Colony Forming Unit (CFU)/g in canned meats, 1.32±0.3 log CFU/g for fishes, and tomato paste accounts for 2.11±0.5 log CFU/g. On the other hand, the counts of anaerobic plate were 0.95±0.2 log CFU/g in meat samples, 1.08±0.2 log CFU/g for fishes, and tomatoes were scored at 0.95±0.2 log CFU/g. Bacillus subtilis, B. coagulans, Clostridium perfringens, and Klebsiella spp. were recovered from some of the canned samples. Conclusion: Canned tomatoes and fishes relatively had more microorganisms than the poultry meat products. These data suggested that poor hygiene standards in the processing line may result in microbial control loss.