A comparative study on the nutritional and microbial safety of fresh 'Wara' hawked in Ilorin and Ogbomoso towns

Malnutrition resulting from low protein intake is one of the nutritional problems facing most developing countries including Nigeria. Most proteinaceous food sources are costly and in short supply. 'Wara' is a proteinaceous ready to eat food product made by curdling milk. It does not normally undergo any further safety treatments before consumption. Frequent hawking on our major streets and roads calls for determination of the safety of these products. 'Wara' samples sourced from four different locations each at Ilorin, Kwara State and at Ogbomoso, Oyo State respectively, were analysed for nutritional and microbial safety. Proximate composition of the samples over the period of storage showed that moisture content and carbohydrates increased from 59.69% to 72.00% and from 2.39% to 11.39% respectively, while protein, fat and ash contents reduced from 22.20% to 10.80%, 15.80% to 3.62% and from 2.99% to 0.25%, respectively. Microbial and fungal counts ranged from 2.0 X 102cfu to 6.3 X 105cfu and from 2.0 X 102cfu to 7.1 X 105 cfu, respectively. Klebsiellaand Salmonella species, Escherichia coli and some fungiwere isolated. The study revealed that some of the hawked cheeses were not safe for consumption. Attributable reasons were unhygienic practices of the hawkers or producers and/or lack of requisite preservatives.