CHAPTER
ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1
BACKGRONUD OF THE STUDY
Meat
is the flesh of animals which serves as food; it is obtained from sheep,
cattle, goat and swine (Haman, 1997). Meat is a major source of protein and an important source of vitamins
for most people in many parts of the world, thus they are essential for the
growth, repair and maintenance of body cells which is necessary for our
everyday activities.
Meat
could be traced back to human history, then when primitive men use raw flesh of
dead animals. But as man developed, he domesticated wild animals. Beef have been the major supply
of meat in Nigeria as a result of extensive and semi-intensive cattle
production system in Nigeria by Fulani and Hausa people of the northern
Nigeria. (Umoh, 2004).
Suya
meat is a boneless lean meat of mutton, beef, goat or chicken meat staked on
sticks, coated withsauces,
oiled and then roasted over wood using a fire from charcoal. It is a
traditionally processed meat product and is usually not done with strict
hygiene condition because they are still done locally.that is served hot and
sold along streets, at clubs, picnics centers, and restaurants and within
institutions.Suya
meat is one of the intermediate moisture products that are easy to prepare and
highly relished.
Due
to the chemical composition and characteristic, meat are highly perishable foods
which provide an excellent medium for growth of many hazardous microorganisms that
can cause infection in human and also lead to meat spoilage and economic loss.
The most important bacterial
meat spoilage is caused by lactic acid bacteria which is physiologically
related group of fastidious and ubiquitous gram-positive organisms.These include many species such as Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, Pediococcus and
Streptococcus.
Since
meat has a high nutritive value, microorganisms could easily grow on it. The
possible sources of contamination are through slaughtering of sick animals,
washing the meat with dirty water, handling by butchers, contamination by
flies, processing close to sewage or refuse dumps environment, spices,
transportation and use of contaminated equipment such as knife and other
utensils. (Igyor and Uma, 2005).
The
slaughtering process affords extensive contamination of sterile tissue with
gram-negative enteric bacteria from animal intestine including Salmonella species and Escherichia coli as well as contaminant
such as gram-positive Lactic cocci
associated with humans, animals and the environment. Enterococci and Clostridia
have been isolated from lymph node of red meat animals (Lawries, 2000,
Alexander et al. 1998).
Microorganisms
grow on meat causing visual, textural and organoleptic changes when they
release metabolite (Jackson etal.
2001). The smoke produced as a number of effects including preservative effect
resulting from the deposition of organic compounds all presents in the smoked product
(Suya meat). (Dineen et al.1999).
A preservative effect is also induced by the surface drying that occurs to the
extent of 30% total weight loss in hot smoked product. Antioxidant effect is
produced by the phenolic deposite unto the product.
The
microbial load in meat and meat product increases as long as growth conditions
are favorable. The factor influencing microbial growth includes acidity, pH,
temperature, water activity. Gaseous requirement, nutrient and competition of
microbes for the nutrient. Controlling these factors implies maintaining long
shelf life of meat and meat product but proper preservation of meat could be
achieved by the combination of two or more preservation method which includes
drying, salting and high temperature (Nester et al. 2001).
1.2 AIMS AND
OBJECTIVES
This work is aimed at determining the microbial
quality of hawked suya meat sold in Enugu and has the following objectives:
1. To isolate, characterize and identify
microbial species associated with suya meat
2.
To establish the public health implication of consumption of suya meat.
3.
To offer useful information where necessary to the consuming public.