DOI: 10.36347/sajp.2021.v10i01.004

Pages: 19-23

Ice cream is considered as one of the most favorable media for growing of bacterial species and as potential source of food poisoning. The main objective of the present study was to determine the bacterial loads of ice cream. A total of thirty samples of fourteen packed ice cream brands were collected from different retail stores in Tripoli city of Libya. Thereafter, their bacteriological quality were assessed and studied comparatively. Total Bacterial viable count (TBVC), total coliform count (TCC) were determined in plate count agar (PCA). Mannitol salt agar (MSA) and Eosin methylene blue (EMB) agar, Salmonella-Shigella agar and Listeria agar were used for Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, Salmonella spp. and Listeria spp. count respectively. The results revealed that all samples had TBVC of cfu/g ranging from 1x104 to 8x104, in which 7 (23.3%) of the ice cream samples fell within the acceptable limit and met the standard plate count according to the Libyan Standard for Ice Cream (LSIC, 1997). By contrast, 7 samples (23.3%) showed zero TBVC. Moreover, 16 sample (53.3%) showed contamination with bacteria in a numbers too numerous to be counted (TNTC). However, on the basis of total coliform count, 20 samples (66.7%) showed high level of contamination. In conclusion, the majority of ice creams have been contaminated with pathogens in particularly Escherichia coli. Hence, it is recommend that a greater attention is needed to apply strict microbiological quality control to ensure the safety of final products of ice creams by improving the quality of production technology and sanitation strategies.