Microbiological quality in 'sambal belacan' of selected local food premises

Abstract

The objectives of the present study were to investigate the microbial profiles in 'sambal belacan' which is one type of ready-to-eat street foods. 'Sambal belacan' is a Malaysian traditional condiment made from mix of chilies and ' belacan' . Salt, sugar, onions and lime juice were added to give more appealing taste. 27 samples of 'sambal belacan' were obtained from three different selected food premises near the University Malaysia Terengganu. For each premise, 9 samples were analysed for the presence of Total plate count, Staphylococcus aureus count, Lactobacillus count, Psychrotrophic count, coliform count, yeast and mould count and the presence of presumptive Escherichia coli. The results showed premise I, II and III contained all the microorganisms tested except Premise II was found negative for Staphylococcus aureus and Premise ill was found negative for the presence of presumptive Escherichia coli. The results showed significant difference interaction (P~0.05) between microbial counts and premises, indicated that microbial counts were significantly affected by different premises. However, no significant differences (P~0.05) observed between mean microbial counts values of yeast and mould count among three premises studied. This study strongly indicated that the high microbial profiles found in 'sambal belacan' of selected food premises may contribute a potential risk of food poisoning incidence.