Microbial Quality of Fresh Juices Sold by Street Vendors and Associated Human Health Risks: The Case of Ilala Ward, Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania

Abstract

Microbial food quality serves to indicate health risks associated with the consumption of contaminated foods. This study aimed to determine the microbial quality of fresh juices and the level of awareness and perception of the consumers and juice vendors at Ilala Ward, Dar es Salaam. Fresh samples of sugarcane, mango and mixed fruit juices were collected from four different sampling stations and analysed using standard methods for Total Coliform (TC), Faecal Coliform (FC) and Total Viable Count (TVC). The level of awareness and perception of 60 juice vendors and 60 consumers were also assessed by using questionnaires. The results showed that TC numbers ranged from the lowest mean of 6.100±4.180x10⁶ to 7.483±3.650x10⁷ MPN/ml, FC ranged from 2.566±0.989x10⁶ to 2.017±1.687x10⁷ MPN/ml while TVC ranged from 5.046±1.032x10⁹ to 5.871±0.835x10⁹ CFU/ml of fresh juices. The level of TC, FC and TVC was beyond the recommended international and Tanzanian standards showing that fresh juices posed a high risk for consumers. On the other hand, 42% of the juice consumers had low awareness of microbial contamination of fresh juices, which leads to high health risks. It is recommended that street juice vendors should adopt proper hygiene measures and undergo appropriate training on microbial quality, food safety and sanitation.