MICROBIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF STREET FOOD DIPPING SAUCE

Abstract

Sauces used for street food are sweet, spicy and sour-flavored sauces. The microbial assessments of these sauces are determined in this study. The assessments conducted in this study are presumptive identification test and microbial load analyses. With the use of Salmonela- Shigella agar (SSA) and Listeria selective agar (LSA), some pathogenic microorganisms such as Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., E. coli and Listeria spp. were identified. In the microbial load analyses APC, yeasts and mold count, and coliform count were done to determine if the sauces were hygienically produced and safe to consume. After the analysis, presumptive identification tests showed that the Commercial Dipping Sauce (CDS) had no growth in SSA agar, with a positive growth in LSA. In the street food dipping sauces, there were positive growth in almost all sauces in both SSA and LSA. In microbial load analyses, results showed that most of the sauces in both Commercial Dipping Sauces (CDS) and Street Vended Dipping Sauces (SVDS) exceeded the acceptable limits but the street food dipping sauces have higher load. The study aims to raise the awareness of consumers and vendors about the hazard and risk to human consumption