DefinePK

Abstract

Fruit juices have antioxidant properties. Sugar, minerals, phenolic, and vitamins are the main components of fresh fruit juices. However, when fresh juices are processed and harvested into vended forms for sale, hygienic procedures are neglected. Due to unhygienic conditions, foodborne illnesses occur among people. The present study aimed to isolate, identify, and evaluate the microbiological quality of the different fruit juices produced from the local streets and canteens of Faisalabad. A total of 120 fresh fruit samples were analyzed for the presence of bacterial pathogens. The highest percentage of bacteria in juices was Escherichia coli (23.8%), Staphylococcus aureus (9.7%), Klebsiella spp. (13.6%), Salmonella spp. (8%), Proteus spp. (8%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (23.4%) and Shigella spp. (13.1%). The highest bacterial count was observed in sugar cane juice (5.75 ± 1.50 log CFU/mL) and the lowest in lemon juice (4.09 ± 3.54 log CFU/mL). The contamination is mainly due to unhygienic conditions as well as poor quality of water used for dilution related to washing of utensils, domestic hygiene, peeling of fruits much earlier before processing, poor personal and contaminated water, and ice, in shops located in crowded places. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria cause serious bacterial infections. Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Staphylococcus aureus , and E. coli were resistant to piperacilin, chloramphenicol, gentamycin, and tobramycin. There should be regular monitoring of street vended fresh juices to check the quality of juices regularly. This would help to avoid any future pathogenic infection.  These findings demonstrated that the fresh juice sample’s quality was unsatisfactory and inappropriate to consume. Consequently, these findings will help local consumers become more knowledgeable in addition to the researchers. It is recommended that street juice vendors adopt proper hygiene protocols and get appropriate training on food safety, sanitation, and microbial quality.