Preliminary Bacteriological Evaluation of Smoked Rabbit Meat Sold on Lagos-Benin Expressway, Nigeria

Abstract

Rabbit meat is a lean meat rich in proteins of a high biological value and it is characterized by high levels of essential amino acids. Presence of potential pathogens could, however, pose serious public health risks. This study was carried out to investigate the bacteriological quality of smoked rabbit meat sold on Lagos-Benin Expressway, Nigeria. A ten-fold dilution of rabbit meat samples was prepared up to 10-6 factor. Total viable bacterial count (TVBC), Total enterobacteriaceae count (TEC), Total coliform count (TCC), Total Staphylococcus aureus count (TSAC) and Escherichia coli were determined on plate count agar, violet red bile glucose agar, MacConkey agar, Mannitol salt agar and Eosin methylene blue agar, respectively. Enterococci, Micrococci and Salmonella spp were counted on Slanetz Bartley medium, Baird Parker agar and Salmonella-Shigella agar, respectively. Biochemical tests were performed for further identification of isolates according to standard methods. Results revealed that TVBC, TEC, TCC and TSAC ranged from 1.48 x 105 to 3.20 x 105 cfu/g, 1.05 x 103 to 1.36 x 103 cfu/g, 1.10 x 103 to 1.44 x 103 cfu/g and 1.14 x 102 to 2.36 x 102 cfu/g, respectively. Staphylococcus aureus had the highest percentage frequency of 30.3% while Salmonella spp, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus spp had the lowest with 6.1% each. Data obtained from certain locations showed significant differences from others (P < 0.05). It was revealed from this study that rabbit meats sold on Lagos-Benin Expressway, Nigeria are of satisfactory quality from bacteriological point of view.