Microbiological characterization of salty bread, soy cheese and three yogurt varieties sold in the streets of Benin

Foodstuffs is a favorable environment for microorganism’s growth. Thus, the germs likely to be found in these foods can be at the base of several food poisoning. The objective of the study was to evaluate the microbiological quality of some foods prepared and sold in Benin. To do this, a prospective descriptive survey was conducted in five major cities (Cotonou, Abomey-Calavi, Porto-Novo, Lokossa and Abomey) of Benin. It collected samples of salted bread, soy cheese and three yogurt varieties (Dolait, Tropical and Comtesse) for microbiological analyzes. Out of the three varieties of yoghurt, the results of the work revealed that the microbial loads in CFU / g of salty breads and soy cheeses respectively amounted to 21.48 103 and 25.73 103 in total flora, 11.50 102 and 22.29 102 in total coliforms, 7.40 102 and 12.61102 in thermo-tolerant coliforms, 60.80 102 and 217.84 102 in staphylococci then 21.43 102 and 113.24 102 in yeast were not in accordance with the values required by the criteria of Standard No. 2073/2005. The identification of isolated organisms showed that salty breads and soy cheeses contained the bacteria of interest in toxi-food infections such as Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, Shigella sp., Citrobacter fameri, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae, Raoultella ornithinolytica, Escherichia coli and Enterobacter aerogenes. This shows that these foods require better health surveillance for the well-being of the populations.