Assessment of Microbial Contamination of Street Juice and Sherbet Items Collected from Different Locations of Khulna City

Food-borne illnesses are spread through tainted food or beverages, primarily through unclean environments and water, with pathogens like Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., E.coli, and Staphylococcus aureus developing in juice preparation water. The current investigation was conducted to determine microbial contamination of street juice and sherbet items collected from different locations in Khulna City. A total of 38 samples particularly of two categories such as i) Juice and ii) Sherbet were analyzed for the detection of E.coli, Fecal coliform, Total coliform, Vibrio spp., Salmonella spp., and Shigella spp. using the Pour Plate techniques were followed. In these samples, E.coli, Fecal coliform, and Total coliform of samples ranged from 1.06 × 10² - 1.21 × 10³,  0.15 × 10² - 3.38 × 10²,  and  2.2 × 10² -  1.33 × 10³ CFU/100 ml respectively. Among the pathogenic bacteria Vibrio spp. (70%), Salmonella spp. (66.67%), and Shigella spp. (76.67%) were detected. Total of 68.42% of the tested street fruit juice and sherbet samples were unsatisfactory but only 31.58% of samples were satisfactory. All the samples exceeded the Gulf standard. Total coliform has a strong positive relationship with E.coli, while fecal coliform has a weak positive relationship. Salmonella spp. positively correlates with Vibrio spp., while Shigella spp. has a negative relationship. Therefore, it is necessary to regularly monitor and implement hygiene precautions for hand-made fruit juice and sherbet to protect these concerns and raise public awareness.

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