Exposure assessment to Salmonella by consumption of informally marketed milk and Gouda cheese in Musaner town, Rwanda

This study assesses the exposure to Salmonella by consumption of boiled milk and Gouda cheese in Musanze town, Rwanda. A consumer survey (n = 90) revealed that among milk buyers in milk shops, 40.0% were also buying boiled milk for their families resulting in consumption by 136 consumers, mainly adults aging between 19-29 years (32.3%). Among those interviewed consumers in households, 66.7% were re-boiling the milk and 33.3% were storing it refrigerated before consumption. Gouda cheese is usually sold in supermarkets belonging to the formal market. A cheese portion with a weight of 62.5 g is mainly consumed (80.0 %, n=370), and the weekly consumption frequency is most in practice (38.1%). A probabilistic exposure model was built up by taking into account prevalence data of Salmonella contamination in boiled milk and Gouda cheese in Rwanda, assumed concentration data of Salmonella, information of the milk chain gathered by observation, and collected consumption data and consumer behavior information. Finally, the risk of infection per day and per year were calculated for different categories of consumers. It appears that even though Salmonella is eliminated by milk boiling, the risk of infection still persists due to post-contamination in the milk shops (8.4% of consumers infected per year), but is decreased by additional boiling in households to 4.9% (children) and 4.6% (adults) per year. For cheese consumption, the risk of infection was lowered by multiple food safety interventions for cheese producers such as trainings on food hygiene and provision of modern equipments improving thus the situation from before to after 2012 by 30.0%% per year in case of adults. Those calculations demonstrate clearly that the additional efforts to reduce the occurrence of Salmonella in the Rwandan dairy chain will benefit the Rwandan population and decrease the burden of food borne disease

The effect of wheat variety, fermentation and incorporation of ingredients on the texture profile, colour and sensory attributes of whole wheat bread

Whole grain flour is gaining an increase in demand for its nutritive and health promotion values in different food products for human consumption worldwide. Whole flour from wheat grain varieties (Gihundo, Kibatsi, Nyaruka and Reberaho), spent coffee grounds (SCG), juices of lemon fruit (L) and rosemary leaves (R), and dough fermentation were assessed for their impact on the texture profile, colour and sensory attributes of bread. Wheat grains (sampled from the stores of Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board, Kinigi, Rwanda) were conditioned to 15.5% moisture content and were wholly milled. The mixture of 200 g whole wheat flour, 4% spent coffee grounds, 1% juice of lemon fruit and 1% juice of rosemary leaves were fermented by using 2% instant dry yeast at 34 °C, 60% relative humidity (RH) for 60 min and at 39 °C, 85% RH for 120 min, separately. The dough was baked at 180 °C for 20 min. Data were subjected to one-way analysis of variance using SAS System. Treatment means were separated using Tukey’s test and the least significant difference was accepted at p ≤ 0.05. The control bread was made for 60 min of fermentation without incorporation of SCG and LR. The control bread was harder than the bread containing SCG and SCG+LR with the same time of fermentation. The long fermentation and the inclusion of SCG and SCG+LR in doughs, caused the supplemented bread to have lower L*, a* and b* values than control bread. Low L*, a* and b* values indicate minimum darkness, redness and yellowness of bread. Aroma, taste and appearance of SCG+LR bread from doughs fermented for 120 min were the most liked. Whole wheat bread obtained satisfied consumers’ preferences. Therefore, the application of spent coffee grounds, juices of lemon fruit and rosemary leaves in bread making represents a good opportunity at low cost

Characterization of meat retail conditions in Kigali city (Rwanda): hygienic practices and determinants for Salmonella occurrence

Salmonella is one of the leading bacterial food borne pathogens worldwide and meat constitutes one of the major vehicles for human Salmonella infections. Salmonella illnesses represent an important public health concern particularly in countries with growing economies such as Rwanda. The objective of this study was to characterize the retail conditions and to determine the microbiological quality and safety of meat retailed within the establishments of Kigali city. A survey was carried out in 150 establishments of Kigali city to characterize the meat retail conditions through a structured questionnaire, whereas 270 meat samples were analyzed for the enumeration of hygiene indicator bacteria and the qualitative detection of Salmonella by using conventional culture methods. Furthermore, the risk factors associated to the occurrence of Salmonella in the commercialized meat pieces were identified trough a binary logistic regression analysis. The first results from this study indicate that beef is the type of meat sold the most within retail premises of Kigali city and meat from animal species other than bovines are generally commercialized in large establishments. The levels of hygiene indicator bacteria were found to be relatively high and Salmonella was detected in 19.6% of all retailed meat samples. Factors such as the exposition of retailed meat at ambient temperature, the utilization of wooden cutting boards with rough surfaces which are difficult to sanitize as well as the lack of trained personnel in hygienic meat handling practices; were found to be significantly associated to the risk of Salmonella occurrence in the retailed meat. The findings from this study highlight the need for improvements in hygienic meat handling practices particularly in small and medium meat retail establishments in Kigali cit

Risk Factors and Control Measures for Bacterial Contamination in the Bovine Meat Chain: A Review on Salmonella and Pathogenic E.coli.

peer reviewedSalmonella and pathogenic Escherichia coli are known to be the major bacterial agents responsible for human foodborne infections attributable to meat. A review of the specialized literature was carried out to identify the risk factors for bovine meat contamination by these pathogens from the cattle farm to meat consumption. Animal stress during transport to the slaughterhouse and the duration of the lairage period were identified as the key factors influencing the faecal excretion of Salmonella and pathogenic E. coli as well as cattle contamination prior to slaughter. At the abattoir level, hides and visceral contents appear to be the main sources of pathogenic bacteria that contaminate carcasses along the meat production chain. Finally, temperature abuses during distribution and meat contamination by infected handlers were found to be important contributors to the post-slaughter contamination of bovine meat. The findings of this study indicate that efficient management of human food borne infections attributable to bovine meat requires an integrated application of control measures involving all actors along the meat chain, namely slaughterhouses, meat processing plants, distributors and consumers

Risk factors for Salmonella contamination in meat based dishes consumed outside the household in Kigali, Rwanda

Meat is world widely known to be a nutrient rich food. It provides valuable amounts of proteins, vitamins such as retinol and vitaminB12 and minerals namely iron, selenium and zinc with an increased bioavailability than found in other dietary sources. Along the production chain, meat can get contaminated by a wide range of spoilage and/or pathogenic microorganisms. Salmonella is reported to be the causal agent of 33% of food borne outbreaks of bacterial origin attributable to meat. Previous studies have indicated Salmonella prevalence of 3.4% in meat based dishes consumed within the households of Kigali. However, the consumption pattern as well as the prevalence of Salmonella in meat based dishes consumed outside the household is still unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the meat consumption pattern outside the household’s level and to assess the bacteriological quality of the consumed meat based dishes

Microbiological quality and safety assessment of the Rwandan milk and dairy chain

Milk is a valuable and nutritious food product that can partially fulfill the rising food demand of the growing African population. The microbiological status of milk and derived products was assessed throughout the milk and dairy chain in Rwanda by enumeration of the total mesophilic count, coliforms, and Staphylococcus aureus and detection of Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes. The quality of raw milk was satisfactory for the majority of samples, but 5.2% contained Salmonella. At the processing level, the total mesophilic count and coliform numbers indicated ineffective heat treatment during pasteurization or postpasteurization contamination. Increasing bacterial counts were observed along the retail chain and could be attributed to insufficient temperature control during storage. Milk and dairy products sold in milk shops were of poor and variable microbiological quality in comparison with the pasteurized milk sold in supermarkets. In particular, the microbiological load and pathogen prevalence in cheese were unacceptably high

Meat retail conditions within the establishments of Kigali city (Rwanda): bacteriological quality and risk factors for Salmonella occurrence

Meat constitutes one of the major vehicles for human foodborne infections. This study aimed to assess the retail conditions and to determine the microbiological quality and safety of meat retailed within the establishments of Kigali (Rwanda). A questionnaire survey was carried out in 150 retail outlets to characterise meat retail conditions. Additionally, 270 retail meat samples were analysed for the enumeration of hygiene indicator bacteria (total mesophilic bacteria and Escherichia coli) and for the qualitative detection of Salmonella, using conventional culture methods. The results revealed that beef was the predominant meat sold within the retail premises of Kigali city, while meat from non-bovine animal species was mainly sold in large establishments. Salmonella was detected in 19.6% of all the retailed meat samples evaluated, whereas the mean loads for total mesophilic bacteria and E. coli were 7.3 and 3.5 log cfu/g, respectively. Three factors, namely the temperature conditions of the meat under retail, the cleanability of the used meat cutting boards, and the training of personnel in hygienic meat handling practices, were found to be significantly (p ≤ 0.05) associated with the risk of Salmonella occurrence in the retailed meat. The findings from this study highlight the need for improvements in hygienic meat handling practices, particularly, in small and medium meat retail establishments in Kigali

Daily intake and bacteriological quality of meat consumed in the households of Kigali, Rwanda

Meat is consumed worldwide as a source of animal proteins, but it is recognized as one of the most important vehicles for food borne infections in humans. This study was conducted to determine the daily intake; the levels of hygiene indicator bacteria, namely the total mesophilic bacteria (TMC) and Escherichia coli counts (ECC); and the prevalence of Salmonella in meat consumed within the households of Kigali (Rwanda). The survey on meat consumption was carried out in 400 households by using a questionnaire, whereas the bacteriological analyses of meat samples were performed by using conventional culture methods. The results from the survey indicated that beef was the type of meat mostly consumed in Kigali city households, and the daily meat intake significantly varied with the social category of the household. No significant difference was observed between daily meat intakes in different age classes of household members. In the samples where microorganisms were detected, the average levels of TMCs and ECCs in raw meat were found to be 5.4 and 1.6 log cfu/g, respectively, whereas in cooked meat they were significantly reduced to 3.1 and 1.1 log cfu/g, respectively. The prevalence of Salmonella was reduced from 21.4% in raw meat to 3.4% in ready-to-eat cooked meat. Salmonella was not detected in cooked meat consumed in high-income households. The results from this study highlight the need for hygiene improvements in meat shops as well as in the households of Kigali, particularly those with low and medium incomes

Consumption patterns, bacteriological quality and risk factors for Salmonella contamination in meat-based meals consumed outside the home in Kigali, Rwanda

Meat-based meals are consumed as a source of animal proteins and constitute one of the leading vehicles for food borne infections in humans. The main objective of this study was to determine the consumption pattern and the bacteriological quality of meat-based meals consumed outside households in Kigali. A survey on meat consumption patterns was carried out in 400 households by using a questionnaire, whereas different meat-based meals were sampled from 150 snack bars and restaurants. Enumeration of hygiene indicator bacteria (total mesophilic bacteria and Escherichia coli) and the qualitative detection of Salmonella were carried out by using conventional culture methods. The results indicated that goat was the type of meat that was consumed the most outside the home in Kigali and the meat intake varied significantly (p ≤0.05) with the social category of the household. The average levels of total aerobic bacteria and E. coli in meat-based meals were found to be 4.7 and 1.4 log cfu/g, respectively, whereas Salmonella was detected in 11.7% of all meat-based meals. Eight factors mostly linked to the cooking treatments and hygienic handling practices for cooked meals were found to be significantly (p ≤ 0.05) associated with the risk of Salmonella occurrence in meat-based meals consumed outside the home in Kigali. The findings from this study strongly suggest the need for proper cooking and/or improvements in hygiene in the establishments selling ready-to-eat meat-based meals in Kigali, particularly those located in rural localities