Microbiological Quality of Kilishi (Traditional Dried Beef) Produced in Ngaoundere, Cameroon. In order to verify the hypothesis that the total microbial load of kilishi samples and the strain of micro-organism they contain would have an influence on their hygienic quality, twenty-four samples of spiced and non spiced kilishi, a traditional sun-dried beef were collected from seven production and sales points in Ngaoundere (North Cameroon). In this regard, aerobic mesophilic flora, coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella spp., sulphito-reducing Clostridium, yeast and moulds were counted on kilishi samples that were diluted serially (ten-fold) and inoculated on selective media. Results obtained showed that 33.34% and 50% of the spiced kilishi samples were contaminated by B. cereus and Salmonella spp., respectively, whereas 83.34% of the non spiced kilishi samples were contaminated by these two micro-organisms. Furthermore, the other investigated micro-organisms were found in all kilishi samples, independent of the type of product. The ratio A/B expressed as the mean level of contamination of spiced kilishi (A) to that of non spiced kilishi (B) was determined for each type of micro-organisms counted. The mean value was 0.43 for sulphito-reducing Clostridium, while the highest value was 0.63 for Salmonella spp. and the lowest 0.27 for Bacillus cereus. This confirms that samples of non spiced kilishi were more contaminated by foodborne pathogens than those of spiced kilishi (P< 0.05). The mean levels of contamination by B. cereus and Salmonella spp. found in some kilishi samples (> 102 CFU/g) were higher than the recommended microbiological standards for cooked meat products (absence in 25 g of product), thus presents a risk of foodborne intoxication for consumers
