Asian Food Science Journal

Aim: The guarantee of quality and safety of foods and all the agents involved in the processes of the food chain in the covid times is of public health concern. This study aimed to evaluate the safety quality of street vended ‘Ogi’ from selected Street hawkers in Iwo, Nigeria in light of the present COVID-19 pandemic.

Study Design: The experimental design used is completely randomized.

Methodology: Vendors from five locations were randomly selected to procure samples. pH, total titratable acidity (TTA), microbial loads, identification of isolates, and storability studies were carried out using standard methods.

Results: pH ranged from (4.1 to 6.3); TTA (0.6 to 0.75 %) for raw ‘Ogi’ slurry. All the ‘Ogi’ samples were contaminated. Counts ranged from (2.6x10⁷ to 1.3x10⁸ CFU/g); (5.6x10⁶ to 2.0x10⁷ CFU/g); (5.2 to 7.2x10⁷ CFU/g); (6.2x10⁶ to 6.1x10⁷ CFU/g); and (1.2x10⁵ to 4.4x10⁶ CFU/g) for total viable (TVC); Staphylococcal; Salmonella-Shigella; Lactobacillus and fungal respectively. pH of cooked ‘Ogi’ ranged from (4.2 to 6.1); TVC and Salmonella-Shigella count ranged from (2.3to 8.5x 10⁶ CFU/g), (1.7 to 3.3x 10⁶ CFU/g); (5.8x10⁶ to 1.5x10⁷ CFU/g), (3.1 to 7.9x10⁶ CFU/g); and (6.6x10⁶ to 1.6x10⁷ CFU/g), (4.0x10⁶ to 1.0x10⁷ CFU/g) for days 1, 2 and 3 respectively.

Conclusion: Even after ‘Ogi’ is cooked, there is still a high probability of survival of some pathogens in this functional food, and consumption could result in gastro-intestinal disorder, thereby creating a food safety concern for consumers who may have other health challenges.