Microbiological Quality Assessment of Ready-To-Eat Fried Chicken and Chicken Soup Samples Sold in Dhaka Metropolis, Bangladesh

Contamination of ready-to-eat foods with pathogenic microorganisms depicting them unacceptable for human consumption and has become a global health problem. Current study attempted to investigate the occurrence of bacterial contamination in ready-to-eat fried chicken and chicken soup samples. In this regard, a total of fifteen fried chicken samples and twelve chicken soup samples were collected from Chinese restaurants, fast food shops and street food shops along with homemade samples. Microbiological analysis of fried chicken revealed that homemade samples and samples from Chinese restaurants and fast food shops were safe for consumption as microbial load was found to be within the acceptable limit. While, the load of total viable bacteria and fungi exceeded the standard microbial limit in the samples collected from University canteen and street food shops. E. coli and Klebsiella spp. along with Staphylococcus spp. and Pseudomonas spp. were also encountered in those samples. In case of chicken soup, homemade samples were found to be good for consumption as only total viable bacteria was found which was in acceptable range. On the other hand, chicken soup samples from street food shops were found to be unacceptable for consumption. Along with total viable bacteria and fungi, specific bacteria including Klebsiella spp., E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas putida and Staphylococcus spp. above the acceptable limit were encountered in that samples. In addition, all the isolates from both the types of samples were found to be multidrug resistant. In case of fried chicken samples, the isolates showed resistance against Cefuroxime and Novobicin. Whereas, Azithromycin, Cefiprime, Ceftriaxone, Ciprofloxacin, Meropenem and Amikacin sensitivity were found in all the isolates. For chicken soup samples, all the pathogenic bacterial isolates were found to be resistant against Cefuroxime, Vancomycin, Amoxycilin and Novobicin. On the other hand, the isolates were found to be sensitive against Azithromycin, Kanamycin, Ceftriaxone, Ciprofloxacin, Meropenem and Amikacin. Presence of microbial contaminants in some tested samples and the occurrence of drug resistance in the bacterial isolates portray the public health risk in the consumption of such food.