HYGIENIC HABITS AND ITS RELATION TO MICROBIAL LOAD ON SMOKED HERRINGS (CLUPEA HARENGUS) IN SABON GARI MARKET, KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA
Abstract
Smoked fish particularly Clupea harengus (herring) is an important and relatively cheap animal protein component in the diet of Nigerians making its consumption and trade a common nutritional and commercial practice. However, the safety of these products is increasingly under scrutiny due to microbial contamination risks associated with poor hygienic practices. This study evaluates the relationship between hygienic habits of vendors and microbial load on smoked herrings sold in Sabon Gari Market, Kaduna State between late March and early May, 2023. A total of 60 C. harengus samples were obtained and analysed using Standard microbiological procedures (serial dilution, pour plate method, and biochemical identification tests). Three different species of microorganisms comprising Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp and Staphylococcus aureus were isolated and Total Viable Count determined (TVC). Descriptive statistics revealed alarmingly high microbial loads, with E. coli (28 CFU/g) and S. aureus (11.57 CFU/g) levels exceeding acceptable thresholds. Although correlation analyses showed a negative association between hygiene scores and microbial levels, ANOVA results indicated no statistically significant differences (p< 0.05) in microbial load across hygiene categories. The findings underscore the need for enhanced hygiene training, market infrastructure improvement, and stricter food safety enforcement to protect public health.
References
Adeyeye, S. A. O. (2016). An Overview of Traditional Fish Smoking in Africa. Journal of Culinary Science and Technology, 14(3), 198215. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15428052.2015.1102785
AIMS Press (2024). Sustaining the blue bounty: Fish food and nutrition security in Nigeria's evolving blue economy. AIMS Agriculture and Food, 9(2), 347-368. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3934/agrfood.2024029
Akinro, A. O., Ologunagba, I. B., and Yahaya, O. (2012). Environmental implications of unhygienic operation of a city abattoir in Akure, Western Nigeria. ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 7(9), 11131119.
American Public Health Association (2015). Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater (23rd ed.). Washington, DC: APHA. 1200p.
American Society for Microbiology (2016). Serial dilution protocols (J. Reynolds, Author). Retrieved from https://asm.org/asm/media/protocol-images/serial-dilution-protocols.pdf?ext=.pdf
Barange, M. (2018). Fishery and aquaculture statistics. FAO yearbook. Fishery and Aquaculture Statistics= FAO Annuaire. Statistiques des Peches et de l'Aquaculture= FAO Anuario. Estadisticas de Pesca y Acuicultura, I-82.
CABI Digital Library (2023). Fish as a source of foodborne bacteria. https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/pdf/10.5555/20230311096
CDC (2023). Escherichia coli (E. coli) infection. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/index.html
Centre for Food Safety (2014). Microbiological guidelines for food (Revised edition). Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. Hong Kong: Centre for Food Safety. 42p.
Chintagari, S. H., Hazard, N., Edwards, G. J., Jadeja, R., and Janes, M. (2017). Risks associated with fish and seafood. Microbiology Spectrum, 5, Article 10.1128/microbiolspec.pfs-0013-2016. https://doi.org/10.1128/microbiolspec.pfs-0013-2016 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/microbiolspec.PFS-0013-2016
Endo, T., Teramoto, I., Okamoto, K., Asamoto, K., Imai, T., Yamada, T., and Yaginuma, A. (2003). Evaluation of ES Colimark agar for enumeration of coliforms and Escherichia coli in food samples. Japanese Journal of Food Microbiology, 20, 217224. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5803/jsfm.20.217
Feng, B., Shi, H., Xu, F., Hu, F., He, J., Yang, H., Zhang, Y., and Chen, Z. (2020). FTIR-assisted MALDI-TOF MS for the identification and typing of bacteria. Analytica Chimica Acta, 1111, 7582. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2020.03.037 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2020.03.037
FAO (2020). The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020. Sustainability in action. Rome. 244p.
FAO (2024). The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 Blue Transformation in action. Rome. 264p.
FAO. (2025). FAO releases latest Fishery and Aquaculture Statistics Yearbook. Retrieved June 12, 2025, from https://www.aquafeed.com/newsroom/reports/fao-releases-latest-fishery-and-aquaculture-statistics-yearbook/
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2025). Fishery and aquaculture country profiles: Nigeria, 2024. Country profile fact sheets. In Fisheries and Aquaculture. Updated August 5, 2024. Retrieved June 12, 2025, from https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/facp/NGA?lang=en
Gautam, K., and Curtis, V. (2021). Food hygiene practices of rural women and microbial risk for children: Formative research in Nepal. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 105(5), 13831395. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.21-0435 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.20-0574
Gonzalez, R. D., Tamagnini, L. M., Olmos, P. D. and De Sousa, G. B. (2003). Evaluation of a chromogenic medium for total coliforms and Escherichia coli determination in ready-to-eat foods. Food Microbiology, 20: 601-604. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0740-0020(02)00178-8
Heinitz, M. L., Ruble, R. D., Wagner, D. E., and Tatini, S. R. (2000). Incidence of Salmonella in fish and seafood. Journal of Food Protection, 63(4), 579592. https://doi.org/10.4315/0362-028X-63.4.579 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4315/0362-028X-63.5.579
Ibrahim, K. L., Bichi, A. H., Dauda, A. B., Salim, A. M., & Sadauki, M. A. (2025). Influence of collection time on nutrients and microbial loads of some frozen marine fish species sold in Bichi Local Government Area of Kano State, Nigeria. FUDMA Journal of Sciences, 9(April Special Issue), 6471. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33003/fjs-2025-09(AHBSI)-3463
ICMSF (International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods). (2002). Microorganisms in foods 7: Microbiological testing in food safety management. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers. 112p.
Jamali, H., Chai, L. C., and Thong, K. L. (2013). Detection and isolation of Listeria spp. and Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods with various selective culture media. Food Control, 32, 1924. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2012.11.033
Kala, E. (2006). The presence of fecal coliforms and fecal streptococci in frozen foods (meat and vegetables). Master's thesis, Gazi University Institute of Science.
Karaboz, . and Diner, B. (2002). Microbiological investigation on some food the commercial frozen meat in zmir, Turkish Electronic Journal of Biotechnology, Special Issue 21: 18-23.
le Loir, Y., Baron, F., and Gautier, M. (2003). Staphylococcus aureus and food poisoning. Genetics and Molecular Research, 2(1), 6376.
Odeyemi, D. F., Idowu, E. O., Oso, J. A. and Mabayoje S. O. (2025). Comparative Assessment of the Proximate Composition and Safety of Commonly Consumed Fish Stock in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. Nutritional and Quality Evaluation of Three Economically Important Fish Species in Ado Ekiti. International Journal of Environmental Science and Natural Resources, 34(5): 556402. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19080/IJESNR.2025.34.556402
Okonta, A. A., and Ekelemu, J. K. (2005). A preliminary study of micro-organisms associated with fish spoilage in Asaba, southern Nigeria. Proc. of the 20th Annual Conference of the Fisheries Society of Nigeria, 557559.
Olalekan, R. M., Olayemi, F. F., Oke, O. A., Ogunleye, O. A., and Olatunji, A. O. (2018). Safety practices among food vendors and microbial quality of street vended foods in Lagos State, Nigeria. International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health, 9(2), 103119.
Mori, M., Sakagami, Y., Tanaka, M., Inoue, R., and Jojima, T. (2020). Analysis of the relationship of microbial contamination with temperature and cleaning frequency and method of domestic refrigerators in Japan. Journal of Food Protection, 83(7), 12341240. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-19-322
Mueller-Hauser, A., Sobhan, S., Huda, T. M. N., Waid, J., Wendt, A., Islam, A., Rahman, M., and Gabrysch, S. (2021). Key food hygiene behaviors to reduce microbial food contamination in rural Bangladesh. Current Developments in Nutrition, 5(2), 669. https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzab045_051 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzab045_051
Copyright (c) 2025 FUDMA JOURNAL OF SCIENCES
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
FUDMA Journal of Sciences
