Bacteriological Evaluation of Selected Food Drinks Commercially Produced in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.

Every day, on average, one million six hundred thousand people get sick due to food, contamination by microorganisms, or chemical substances worldwide. Food safety can also include practical measures and scientific discipline taken to ensure that food products are safe for consumption, free from contamination and do not pose any risk to public health. . This research focuses on human pathogenic bacteria for which food is conclusively demonstrated as their transmission mode to humans and the impact of foodborne diseases on public health. Aim: This study aims to examine and identify common pathogenic bacteria present in locally made food drinks in the Kumasi market. Methods: Two sites, Kejetia and Abinkyi markets were used for the sampling of the various food products. Convenient sampling was employed in the selection of the food products. A total of eight samples were taken, four from each market. The food products include Pineapple juice, Zonkom, Tiger nut drink, and Brukina. Samples were kept at the same temperature as on the market. The samples from retailers were kept immediately in an ice chest containing ice cubes and were transported to the laboratory. 20 ml of each food product was transferred into a 100 mL sterile container in a 1:5 dilution. A 1-unit sample volume (20 mL) was added to 4-unit volumes of distilled water to produce five units of total volume (100 mL). Temperatures of the various samples were controlled to attain room temperature before subjecting them to culturing. Results: The results indicate that over 62% of the total samples are contaminated with yeast and Staphylococcus. Klebsiella sp. was 15% of the total samples, and Enterobacter species was 7%. Conclusion: The results show that local drinks has a potential health threat of bacterial pathogens present in these drinks.