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Page No. : 37-40

ABSTRACT

Wahan Mosdeng (Pork vorta) is an ethnic ready-to-eat (RTE) food available in Tripura and the present study was undertaken to assess the microbiological quality of the same. A total of 110 Wahan Mosdeng, and same number of swab samples from utensils, food serving areas, hands of food handlers were collected from same street vendor shops. The samples were analysed for total viable count, total coliform count and total staphylococcus count with the overall mean 2.09 ± 0.085, 0.95 ± 0.071 and 1.68 ± 0.073 log10cfu/g, respectively. The swab samples also indicated the higher rate of microbial load. The RTE pork vorta samples were predominantly contaminated with Staphyloccous aureus (45.82%), E. coli (29.09%), Proteus spp. (19.36%) and Salmonella spp. (9.27%). The present study emphasized that the microbial quality of RTE pork vorta was poor which may cause a potential threat to public health.
Keywords: Food safety, hygiene, public health hazards, street food, Wahan Mosdeng (Pork vorta)