Assessment of the Microbiological Quality of Artisanal Sausages Sold by Street Vendors in the City of Kisangani, Dr Congo

Abstract

Food products sold on public streets may be contaminated and cause foodborne illnesses, posing a serious challenge to food safety and public health. To assess the microbiological quality of artisanal sausages sold on the streets of Kisangani, twenty sausage samples ten samples per vendor type were collected from two types of vendors: street vendors and food stalls. Total aerobic mesophilic flora (TAMF), fecal coliforms (FC), Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella spp. were the primary microorganisms tested for. The microbiological quality of the samples was assessed based on quality standards. Antibiotic susceptibility testing of potentially pathogenic strains to commonly used antibiotics in Kisangani was conducted to study antibiotic resistance. Microbiological analyses revealed that the sausages were contaminated with spoilage flora (FMAT), indicators of fecal contamination (fecal coliforms), as well as bacteria responsible for foodborne illnesses that are potentially pathogenic (S. aureus and Salmonella sp.). This contamination depends on processing hygiene and is likely the result of the meat-to-sausage processing stage, prior to sale during the packaging of the sausages into bags, during sale while the product is on display, and due to improper storage conditions. Staff handling and selling the sausages, the equipment used, and the environment could likely be sources of contamination due to poor hygiene. It was found that sausages collected from street vendors were more contaminated than those collected from grocery stores (p=0.02). In accordance with quality standards, 100% of the samples collected from street vendors were classified as unfit for consumption, compared to 33.3% of the samples from grocery stores that were classified as unfit. With the exception of their susceptibility to ceftriaxone, the S. aureus and Salmonella sp. strains isolated from sausages were all found to be resistant to the other antibiotics tested. Finally, strict hygiene measures must be reinforced in the sector to improve food safety and public health for the population that consumes these sausages.