ABSTRACT
This study was carried out to identify and characterise common bacterial consumed in eating contaminated hawked fried snails. Fried snail is a ready to eat food sold in various locations in Ikot Ekpene especially the Polytechnic environment. A microbiological method was used to select and assess samples of snails. A total of four bacterial which includes Hsteria Innocua, staphylococcus aureus, micrococais agilis, and Bacillus Sp were isolated from the samples. The result showed that the highest bacteria load were (3.5 x 105 cfu/g) followed by (2.8 x 105 cfu/g) followed by (1.6 x 102 cfu/g) and (1.4 x 102 cfu/g). the result further revealed that some of the snail samples had unhealthy bacterial load which is detrimental to health and against the world health standards for feeding.
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 Introduction
Snails belong to class Gastropoda, a classification that includes land, freshwater and sea snails and slugs. Snail’s ancestors are one of the earliest known types of animals in the world. There is fossil evidence of primitive gastropods dating back to the late Cambrian period this means that they lived nearly 500 million years ago.
Gastropods are able to adapt to a variety of living conditions and they don’t require large amounts of food. They have been able to continually evolve to survive the conditions around them which many researchers find to be very fascinating. Gastropods belong to the phylum mollusc (or mollusks) classification of invertebrate animal with soft unsegmented body, sometimes covered with an exoskeleton or shell. This phylum, mollusc, includes animals like squids, octopuses, clams and cattle fishes among others.
Snail and slugs are both Gastropods, therefore they are closely related, regardless the fact that slugs lack a protective you will find that there aren’t any shortages of snails around the world. Snails as gastropods are not the exception; there are land snails freshwater and sea snails in an assortment of sizes, habitats appearance.
Fried snail is produced by frying the already seasoned snail meat with vegetable oil. The hawked fried snails is carried about in a semi – closed plastic bucket from place to place thereby exposing it to dust and other effect of the environment by so doing harmful organism find their ways into the snail thereby causing food poisoning.
Food poisoning is an illness with acute gastro enteraction as a major symptom caused by the ingestion of food containing harming micro organism or harmful substances some bacterial organisms normally implicated in snails causing food poisoning when consumed include: Hsteria, Innocua, Staphylococais aureae, Micrococais agilis and Bacillus sp.
Their presence is of serious public health concern. Study of the microorganisms can make the snails off flavours rendering them unfit for consumption and reducing their fast value. (Hanna, 1966).
1.2 Statement of the Problem
In every human endeavor, hygiene is very important both physically and in things we consume in order to prevent food poisoning.
Food poisoning occurs when you consume foods contaminated with bacteria, viruses, or parasites. Symptoms are usually uncomfortable and mist times severe. Food poisoning can come unknowingly to a person. Most of the avenues through which food poisoning can occur is through consumption of food that is not fried. A snail is in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. Some bacterial organisms are normally implicated in snails which causes food poisoning when consumed. There are many types of snails, but they fundamentally differ because they are aquatic or terrestrial. The former are adapted to live in the sea or bodies of fresh water, but the latter live exclusively on land, although in humid areas. All land snails are gastropod mollusks, meaning that they belong to the same group of octopuses, which are part of the phylum Mollusca. At the same time, they are members of the class Gastropoda, which includes all snails and slugs. Being a mollusk means lacking an internal skeleton and bones, but snails are not unprotected.
Fried snail is produced by frying the already seasoned snail meat with vegetable oil. The hawked fried snails is carried about in a semi – closed plastic bucket from place to place thereby exposing it to dust and other effect of the environment by so doing harmful organism find their ways into the snail thereby causing food poisoning. This study is therefore carried out to investigate the bacteriological examination of fried snail.
1.3 Aims and Objective of the Study
To isolate, identify and characterise common bacterial consumed in eating contaminated hawked fried snails.
1.4 Significance of the Study
This study will be significant to individuals who are into snail frying because it will help them to improve on the hygiene of the food they prepare for public consumption. This study will also help fried snail hawkers to have good knowledge of safe food handling practices and as well draft strategies to avoid contamination of food. This study will also serve as a reference material for further research in this topic or related domain in the future.
1.5 Limitations of the Study
The major limitation the researcher encountered while carrying out this research work were the issue of finance, unavailability of materials, and time factor to combine both academic work and the research work.
1.6 Scope of the Study
This study focuses on identifying and characterising common bacterial consumed in eating contaminated hawked fried snails.
1.7 Definition of Terms
Bacteria: Bacteria are single-cell organisms that are neither plants nor animals. They usually measure a few micrometers in length and exist together in communities of millions.
Snail: A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs.
Consumption: the act of eating something.
Examination: a detailed inspection or study.
Contaminate: Contamination is the presence of a constituent, impurity, or some other undesirable element that spoils, corrupts, infects, makes unfit, or makes inferior a material, physical body, natural environment, workplace, etc.
Food Poisoning: occurs when you consume foods contaminated with bacteria, viruses, or parasites
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