ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF BACTERIA IN ICE-CREAM SAMPLES MARKETED IN TIRUCHIRAPPALLI CITY, TAMILNADU, INDIA

The microbiological quality of ice cream during retail marketing mainly depends on the contamination during the product handling as well as efficiency and sanitary conditions during frozen storage. Many food poisoning cases associated with the consumption of ice creams have been reported. We studied the bacteriological profile of ice cream sold at retail outlets in Tiruchirappalli, a city in Tamilnadu State, India. Ice cream samples were collected from ice cream shops. Random sampling method was followed to collect different flavours of ice creams from the shops. A total of 10 samples were collected from two different localities, in sterile containers and transported to the laboratory and were processed immediately. High level coli form count, presence of Escherichia coli and Bacillus sp indicated faecal contamination of ice creams thereby suggesting possible risk of infection involved in the consumption of such food. Presence of Staphylococcus an enterotoxin producer may cause serious health problems. Among the isolates from samples tested, only Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus sp were significant potential pathogens. However, presence of other organisms (Bacillus) could be attributed to unhygienic conditions during preparation, handling and serving of ice creams. Based on the biochemical characterization, the isolate 1 was identified as Bacillus sp., the isolate 2 as E. coli sp., the isolate 3 as Staphylococcus sp. The molecular characterization revealed that the Bacillus sp, was identified as Bacillus subtilis, this was further submitted to NCBI Genbank to get Accession number. The Accession number was MH071337.1. Health education of the vendors and strict implementation of hygienic standards may help to reduce the contamination rates. The results suggested negligence such as poor sanitation during the preparation/or storage of ice cream. These included the observed dirty premises, used utensils and the use of bare hands in preparing the products.