Bacteriological Quality Assessment of Fresh Cow Milk (Nono) Vended in Sheikh Muhammad Nasiru Kabara (Wambai) Market, Kano State, Nigeria

Abstract

Fresh fermented or skimmed cow milk called ‘Nono’ is widely consumed by a large number of households within Kano metropolis. There are large number of joints where ‘Fura da Nono’ were prepared and sold to the people in the city. However, despite the vulnerability of this cow milk to microbial contaminations, there is scarcity of information regarding to the bacteriological quality of this important food in Kano metropolis. A research was conducted to assess the bacteriological quality of fresh milk (nono) retailed in Wambai market Kano metropolis. Fresh milk (nono) samples were collected from retailers. Physicochemical parameters and bacteriological quality of the vended nono and handling equipment in the study areas were examined. The samples were serially diluted and samples inoculated on MacConkey Agar and Salmonella-Shigella Agar. Bacterial enumerations and identification were carried out using standard methods. Data obtained were analyzed using Analysis of Variance with Duncan’s New Multiple Range Test used to separate significant means at 5% level. The fresh milk nono samples obtained were acidic (4.13) with a temperature of 28.68 oC and a viscosity of 167.9 cp. Five pathogenic gram negative bacterial species: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi and Proteus mirabilis were found to be associated with fresh milk (nono) samples with Escherichia coli as the most predominant bacterial species in the study area. Thus, consumption of such fresh milk (nono) stored for more than 48h should be discouraged.