Efficacy of disinfection techniques on microbial contamination of fruits and vegetables sold in markets in Yola-Jimeta, northeastern Nigeria

Abstract

In order to determine the microbial quality of fruits and vegetables sold in Yola-Jimeta markets and the efficacy of vinegar in decontaminant, the microbial contaminations of 16 samples of cabbage, carrot, lettuce, and tomato obtained from Yola-Jimeta market was determined before washing, after washing with water, after washing with vinegar and rinsing with water, and after soaking in vinegar for 5 minutes and rinsing with water. A significant reduction in the microbial loads of the samples was observed after washing with vinegar and rinsing with water, while no microbial growth was observed after soaking in vinegar water for 5 minutes and rinsing with water. Further tests revealed harmful microbes among the microbial growth observed. These results indicated that fruits and vegetables sold in Yola-Jimeta markets are contaminated with harmful microbes and that washing with water does not reduce the microbial load of the samples tested while a decrease in the microbial loads was observed only after washing with vinegar and rinsing with water. These results suggest that the use of vinegar is an effective decontamination method for fruits and vegetables.