ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Microbiological Safety and Antibiogram Analysis
of Selected Food Products Obtained
in the Marketplace of Peshawar and Mardan,
KPK, Pakistan
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1
Department of Microbiology, University of Swabi, Pakistan
2
Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Abasyn University Peshawar, Pakistan
3
Department of Microbiology, Cholistan University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan.
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Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
5
Department of Entomology, The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Pakistan
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Department of Biotechnology, University of Swabi, Ambar 23561, Pakistan.
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Department of Biotechnology, Bacha Khan University, Pakistan
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Center of Biotechnology and Microbiology, University of Swat, Pakistan
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Department of Botany, Abdulwali Khan University, Mardan, Pakistan
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School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
Submission date: 2018-08-12
Final revision date: 2018-09-04
Acceptance date: 2018-09-08
Online publication date: 2019-08-02
Publication date: 2019-09-17
Corresponding author
Muhammad Shuaib
School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, NO.2 North Cuihu road, Kunming, Yunnan, 650091, PR. China, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, NO.2 North Cuihu road, Kunming, Yunn, 650091 Kunming, China
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2019;28(6):4239-4245
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TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Foodborne diseases are very frequent and can easily transmit from contaminated food and food
handlers. Among the foodborne pathogens, strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Listeria
monocytogen and Clostridium are very important because of its presence in a wide range of foodstuffs.
A total of 520 food samples were collected at Peshawar (50%) and Mardan (50%), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,
Pakistan, from April 2016 to March 2017. Isolates were cultured and discriminated by Gram stain,
followed by biochemical identification, disk diffusion assay was performed using antibacterial and
antifungal agents. Out of 520, only 122 (23.46%) samples were positive for various types of bacterial and
fungal pathogens. Gram-positive bacteria was the predominant (70.49%) followed by fungal pathogens
(26.23%) and Gram-negative bacterial pathogens (3.27%) among the total positive samples. Prominent
bacterial samples were Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus spp., Clostridium spp., Staphylococcus
saprophytic, Listeria spp., Enterobacter spp., and Citrobacter spp., whereas four fungal pathogens were
also identified in various food items. Among the fungal pathogens isolated were Aspergillus nigar (50%),
Candida krusei (19%), Fusarium oxysporium (6%) and Mucor (25%). Antibiogram analysis reveals that
Levofloxacin, Ceftriaxone Ciprofloxacin, Cefoxitin, Chloramphenicol, and Ceclor were more active
against bacterial isolates. Fungal isolates had shown differential sensitivities toward Voriconazole. Local
food markets of Peshawar and Mardan, KPK, Pakistan have more than 20% risk of foodborne pathogens.
It is recommended that the general public should purchase neat and clean food and adopt mild processing
techniques to make the food hygienic.