Abstract:
The presence of pathogenic microorganisms in dairy products including yoghurt is undesirable because
of the risk of infectious diseases. This study assessed the microbiological quality of some yoghurt samples
in Sagamu metropolis, Ogun State, Nigeria with respect to pH, microbial types and counts and
detection of extended spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) genes. The pH readings ranged between 4.05
and 5.81 while minimum total viable bacterial and minimum total coliform counts ranged from 1.1 x
101 to 2.0 x 106 CFU/mL and 3.0 X 100 to 2.3 x 104 CFU/mL, respectively. The samples yielded a total
of 40 bacterial isolates including 15 Gram-positive and 25 Gram-negative isolates belonging to eight
Genera among which Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most prevalent 10
(25%). Escherichia coli showed the highest resistance to levofloxacin (100%). Gram-negative isolates
had higher number of multidrug resistant isolates (92%). ESBL was detected phenotypically in 4 (16%)
of Gram-negative bacteria. Only SHV gene was detected in two P. aeruginosa while CTX-M and TEM
genes were not detected in any of isolates. The yoghurt samples contained pathogenic microorganisms
that are capable of causing health complications. Therefore, rigorous inspection and quality standards
are required to ensure Good Manufacturing Practice.
