A study of microbial contamination of street vended ready-to-eat aloo-tikki in allahabad city , india

The present study was undertaken to investigate microbiological quality of ready-to-eat street vended aloo-tikki sold in Allahabad, city of Uttar Pradesh, India. A total of 36 samples were collected from 12 major areas which represented whole city. All samples were collected from the vendors in sterilized polythene bags and analyzed within an hour of procurement. Bacterial pathogens were identified by standard bacteriological techniques. Microbiological enumeration of ready to eat street-vended aloo-tikki, revealed a standard plate count ranging from 103.4-247.3×10 cfu/gm, and yeast and mould ranging between 89-168.2×10 cfu/gm. The presumptive coliform test was found to be 86.1% positive. Prominent bacterial pathogens isolated were Styphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus sp., and Salmonella sp. The presence of such microorganisms indicates poor handling practices, cross contamination and aerial contamination which becomes reason and sometimes important source of food borne illness to humans.