Effect of Storage and Consumer Handling on Staphylococcal Counts of Dried Beef and Dried Fish

Changes in staphylococcal counts of dried beef and dried fish during storage and while exposed to prospective buyers in a Nigerian market were investigated. The mean staphylococcal counts in dried beef and dried fish were 9.9 × 10⁵ and 4.6 × 10⁶ colony-forming units (CFU)/g and the mean aerobic plate counts were 2.0 × 10⁷ and 1.2 × 10⁸ CFU/g, respectively. Over a 28-d storage period at room temperature, the mean staphylococcal count declined about 100-fold for both products, i.e., from 9.9 × 10⁵ to 3.0 × 10³ CFU/g in dried beef and 4.6 × 10⁶ to 2.2 × 10⁴ CFU/g in dried fish. The decline in aerobic plate counts were from 2.0 × 10⁷ to 6.5 × 10⁴ CFU/g for dried beef and 1.2 × 10⁸ to 1.4 × 10⁵ CFU/g for dried fish, about a 1000-fold decline. Market samples of both products, though from the same batch but exposed to handling by prospective buyers, consistently showed higher staphylococcal contamination over the study period. Consumption of these products repeatedly exposed to human handling in the market for long periods may be a health hazard, particularly those that are ready-to-eat.