Bacteriological quality of street-vended beverages sold in two popular markets in Georgetown, Guyana

Abstract

In Guyana, street-vended beverages can often be bought in the local markets and someeating establishments; and are popular, sought-after beverages. The demand andconsumption of local beverages are likely to increase for both locals and foreigners. Thesafe production of fruit beverages by the fruit juice vendor will become crucial to preventspoilage and microbial contamination. This study analyses the bacteriological quality ofstreet-vended juices from two of the main markets in Georgetown, by enumerating thetotal viable count and identifying coliforms, Staphylococcus sp., Salmonella sp. and Shigellasp. This experimental study investigated street-vended juices. The standard plate countmethod was used to determine the total viable count on nutrient agar using serial dilutions.Selective media including MSA agar, EMB agar, and XLD agar; and other identificationtests were used to select for and identify specific bacteria. The data were presented asmean±SD and numbers of positive samples. About 90% of samples were contaminatedwith bacteria with an average of 5.8±1.9 log cfu/mL or 2.1x107 cfu/mL. Of the 20 juices,65% contained coliforms, 25% yielded E. coli, and 60% yielded Klebsiella sp. /Enterobacter sp.,65%yielded Staphylococcus sp., 25% were suspected to be Shigella sp. and 5% were suspectedto be Salmonella sp. Standards for ready-to-drink, non-carbonated beverages state thatcoliforms and other pathogens must be absent; therefore our findings are very worrying.We recommend that governmental and non-governmental agencies collaborate to bringmore awareness about hygiene and storage techniques for street vendors.