Bacteriological analysis of locally vended fresh fruit juices in Khulna city, Bangladesh

Abstract

Fresh fruit juice contains high levels of natural vitamins, sugars and fibers that are crucial for human health. Fruit juice vending is a widespread business in Bangladesh, where street vendors offer a variety of locally prepared fresh juices in bustling urban areas and markets. Consumption of vended fruit juices worldwide has often been allied with foodborne illnesses, emphasizing the importance of concomitant health risk assessment. The study was focused on the bacteriological assessment of fruit juices that were vended at various locations in Khulna city. Raw mango, ripe mango, apple, sugarcane, pineapple, malta, lemon, papaya and tamarind juice were collected from vendors of popular selling areas in Khulna. The highest bacterial count 2.18x104 CFU/ml was found in lemon juice (Khulna university campus) and tamarind juice (Batiyaghata) and the lowest 0.57x104 CFU/ml was in ripe mango juice (Khulna university campus hall road). Different biochemical tests reveal prevalence of Proteus spp. was in raw mango, pineapple and malta juices. Staphylococcus spp. was found in ripe mango and lemon juices; Clostridium spp., Bacillus spp. and Enterococcus spp. were found in apple, sugarcane and tamarind juices respectively. 2.12×104 CFU/ml coliform bacteria (Escherichia coli) was found in papaya juice (from Gollamari) which is higher than the maximum microbiological limit (103 CFU/ml) for fresh fruit juices (GSO, 2014). The existence of diverse bacterial species in the vended fruit juices may cause diarrhea, vomiting, stomach ache, skin infection etc., which asserts the importance of adequate monitoring to safeguard consumers safety and improved health.