Effect of rinses on microbial quality of commercially available eggs and its components before processing from Ilorin in western Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the effect of rinses on the microbial safety of whole egg and its components, commonly consumed in the Ilorin west area, to unrinsed eggs. The microorganisms isolated during this study include: Serratia spp., Providencia spp., Citrobacter spp., E. coli, Enterobacter spp., Klebsiella spp., while the fungus includes Cladosporium spp., Aspergillus fumigatus, A. niger, A. flavus, Penicillium spp. and Mucor spp. From this study the rinsed eggs have the lowest amount of microbial load at 0.6 × 102 cfu/ml, which was less than the accepted 6.0 log10 CFU/ml recommended by the International Commission on the Microbiological Specification for Food. Therefore, it is recommended that table eggs should not be consumed raw.