Comparative evaluation of the bacteriological quality of ready-to-eat soups from local vendors and eateries within Calabar metropolis, Cross River State, Nigeria

Bacteriological evaluation of 3 different kinds of soups, 9 from local vendors and 9 from eateries was carried out to comparatively evaluate ready-to-eat soups from local vendors and eateries in the Calabar metropolis, Cross River State, Nigeria in order to assess their safety and potential public health risks. The mean colony count for the freshly analysed sample ranged from 4.7- 9.2×107Cfu/mL obtained from local vendors while that obtained from eateries was 1.2-11.0×107 Cfu/mL. The frequency of the genera of microorganisms isolated were; Staphylococcus sp. (23.7%), Streptococcus (20.3%), 8.5% for Lactobacillus, Corynebacterium and Bacillus, 3.4% for Micrococcus, Arthrobacter, Listeria, Klebsiella, Paenibacillus and Yersinia and 1.7% for Lactoplantibacillus, Clostridium, Seratia, Actinomyces, Citrobacter and Enterococcus. Among the identified organisms, gram-positive organisms had a high occurrence rate with 13(76.4%) compared to gram-negative organisms 4(23.5%). There was no significant difference (p≤0.05) in the distribution of isolated organisms across all experimented locations although there was a higher occurrence rate of organisms from local vendors (52%) than from eateries (48%). Staphylococcus sp. was the most abundant and present in all soup samples purchased from both local vendors and eateries. The results of the index study report an unacceptable colony count in ready-to-eat food samples according to the Microbiological guidelines for food (2014). The isolated organisms are prominent indicator pathogens of foodborne infection. The results of this study therefore imply that stringent supervision and regular education on food and personal hygiene among food vendors are required to ensure food safety.