article · Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods
Analysis of 800 samples of water, fermenting broths, and dried lafun from two Nigerian villages revealed significant microbiological contamination. Microbial counts reached up to 1.04x10^5 cfu/ml in liquids and 9.91x10^4 cfu/g in dried lafun. Pathogens including Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, and various fungal species were identified. Multiple bacterial isolates demonstrated multi-drug resistance against two to ten antibiotics, and approximately 39 percent of fungal isolates produced aflatoxins between 1 and 1,600 micrograms per kilogram. Observations of processing environments highlighted steeping, drying, and packaging or storage as critical control points. Applying corrective hazard analysis measures in a laboratory setting improved the microbiological safety of lafun. The findings demonstrate consumer health risks from bacterial infections and aflatoxin poisoning, underscoring the need to educate processors on hygiene and critical control points.
Lafun is a traditional cassava food, but unhygienic traditional processing exposes consumers to severe food safety risks. The presence of multi-drug-resistant bacteria and toxic aflatoxins can trigger difficult-to-treat infections and poisoning. Identifying critical contamination stages provides a clear framework to improve production practices, protect public health, and ensure traditional staple foods remain safe to consume.
This research provides an applied and tested hazard control framework for cassava flour processors, food safety regulators, and training bodies. By targeting steeping, drying, and storage, the protocol enables smallholder processors and commercial food enterprises to upgrade hygiene standards. The intervention has been validated at laboratory scale, meaning practical adoption will require standard operating procedures and technical extension programmes before achieving widespread industry use.
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Eight hundred samples of water, fermenting broths and dried lafun obtained from processors from two villages in Ogbomoso, Nigeria were analysed within a period of five months for microbiological attributes through the enumeration and isolation of mould/yeast, mesophilic aerobic bacteria, coliform, staphylococci, Salmonella and lactobacilli. In addition, the public health implications of the incidence of bacteria and fungi were investigated through antibiotic sensitivity testing and determination of aflatoxigenic potential of fungal isolates. The raw materials and environments in which lafun processing was carried out was observed to identify sources of hazards associated with the production process, to construct a workable hazard analysis and critical control points plan for lafun production, which was implemented in the production of laboratory-prepared lafun. The cumulative microbial counts of the water and fermenting broths ranged from 1.35×104 to 1.04×105 cfu/ml, while that of lafun samples ranged from 2.21×104 to 9.91×104 cfu/g. There were occurrences of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, Lactobacillus sp., Bacillus cereus, Klebsiella oxytoca, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Absidia corymbifera and Rhizopus oryzae in the samples. Many of these isolates showed multi-drug resistance to 2-10 antibiotics, while about 39% of the fungi produced aflatoxins ranging from 1 to 1,600 μg/kg. The critical control points identified in the production were steeping, drying, packaging/storage, and the implementation of the corrective measures led to the production of laboratory-prepared lafun with improved microbiological safety. The results showed potential hazards that may be associated with the consumption of lafun with attendant public health consequences of aflatoxin food poisoning and illnesses that may be occasioned by multi-drug resistant bacteria. Education of processors on the hazards, critical control points and importance of hygienic environment is therefore necessary in the production of quality lafun to safeguard public health.
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DOI: 10.3920/qas2014.0476
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