Bacteriological quality of icecream marketed in Thrissur town, Kerala, India

• Main Authors: R Ambily, A K Beena
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Veterinary World 2012-01-01
• Series: Veterinary World
• Subjects: Ice-cream; Coliform count; Staphylococcal count; Salmonella spp
• Online Access: http://www.scopemed.org/fulltextpdf.php?mno=19303

Aim: To assess the bacteriological quality of ice creams marketed in Thrissur town, Kerala. Materials and Methods: Twenty seven ice cream samples randomly collected from selected retail outlets and street vendors in the town over a period of two months were analyzed for total viable count and for the presence of coliforms, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes. Results: Total Viable Count ranged from 1.2 x 10 2 to 8.2 x 10 3 CFU/g in industrial brands whereas in street vendor samples it was high in the range of 5.2 x 10 5 to 6.6 x 10 6 CFU/g. Coliform counts were high in 30 % of the samples. 27 % of the samples had high Staphylococcal count. E coli were isolated from two samples from street vendors and Salmonella spp. from one of the samples. Listeria spp. was not isolated from any of the samples. Conclusion: The presence of potential pathogens in the ice cream samples reveals the significance of implementation of quality control measures in marketing ice creams thus reducing the public health hazards. [Vet World 2012; 5(12.000): 738-741]