Bacteriological profile and holding temperatures of ready-to-serve food items in an open market in Awassa, Ethiopia.

Various types of ready-to-serve food items purchased at the Awassa open market were evaluated for their bacteriological profile and holding temperatures. The food items included roasted offals, fish soup, cooked and sauced macaroni and spaghetti, and shiro sauce. Spaghetti and macaroni were held at ambient temperatures (20-30 degrees C) and had high aerobic mesophilic count (> 10(6) cfu/g) and Enterobacteriaceae count (> 10(5) cfu/g). They also yielded Shigella and Staphylococcus spp. Most of the other food items were held at higher temperatures (> 40 degrees C) and the aerobic mesophilic count in most cases was relatively lower (< 10(5) cfu/g). Several bacterial genera were isolated and Micrococcus and Bacillus spp. dominated the aerobic microflora. The unhygienic conditions of the food service environment, possibilities of cross contamination from utensils and keeping food items at ambient temperatures for several hours were considered to be critical points.