Bacteriological Quality of Traditionally Prepared Fried Ground Beef (Dambun nama) in Sokoto, Nigeria

The study was designed to determine the bacterial quality of local fried ground beef (Dambun nama) sold and consumed in Sokoto metropolis. Between January and December 2009, 216 samples of fried ground beef were collected and processed for bacterial isolations. Plate count agar, Violet Red bile lactose agar, RAPID E. coli agar and tellurite emulsion plates were used for the isolation of aerobic mesophiles, coliforms, E. coli and S. aureus. The total mesophilic aerobic count from the 216 samples was between 6.70x10 and 9.30x10 CFU.gG with a counts of 4.5x10 CFU.gG. The prevalence of 100, 49.5 and 36.6% were obtained for aerobic mesophiles, feacal coliforms and E. coli respectively, while a prevalence of 69.9% was recorded for S. aureus. The rate of isolation of bacterial organism and the colony-forming unit per gram (CFU.gG) from the samples were higher than the acceptable limits. Therefore, the product is unsafe for human consumption.