Food Protection Trends - January/February 2015 - 49

PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE

Roseline Olobatoke,* Sendros
Mulugeta and Mulunda Mwanza1

Food Protection Trends, Vol 35, No. 1, p. 49-55
Copyright©2015, International Association for Food Protection
6200 Aurora Ave., Suite 200W, Des Moines, IA 50322-2864

School of Agricultural Science, North West University,
Mafikeng Campus, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho,
2735, South Africa

Incidence and Antimicrobial
Susceptibility of Coliforms in Broiler
Products at the North West Province
of South Africa
ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to evaluate the incidence
and antibiotic resistance of coliforms in raw and readyto-eat broiler products in the North West Province of
South Africa. A total of 120 raw and 60 ready-to-eat
samples obtained from butcheries and supermarkets were
screened for the presence of coliforms. Coliform species
were identified by correlating cultural characteristics on
MacConkey and Blood agars and biochemical reactions on
Enteropluri-test®/API 20NE. Identified isolates were then
tested for antibiotic resistance by disk diffusion method
using ampicillin (10 µg), ciprofloxacin (5 µg), amikacin (30
µg), trimethoprim-sulphamethoxasole (25 µg), cefotaxime
(30 µg), meropenem (10 µg), gentamicin (10 µg) and
erythromycin (15 µg). The results showed that 75% (n
= 90/total raw) of raw and 25% (n = 15/total RTE) of
RTE products were contaminated with various genera of
coliforms. A high frequency of resistance was manifested
to ampicillin (93.6%) and erythromycin (97.9%), whereas
resistance to other antibiotics tested was moderate to low
(27.7% to 6.4%). However, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis

(from raw chicken) and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia
(from polony) were both resistant to seven out of the eight
antibiotics tested. The results indicate that consumption
of poultry products can increase consumer exposure to
antibiotic resistant organisms. This is the first report on
the incidence, in RTE foods in the NWP of South Africa,
of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, a bacterium that easily
transfers antibiotic-resistance genes to other bacterial
species/genera in the same family.

INTRODUCTION
Chicken meat contains essential micro- and
macronutrients, making it high in nutritive value (32).
It thus constitutes a part of balanced diet, with a good
consumption rate among South Africans (34). However,
poultry meat is often contaminated with pathogens such as
pathogenic E. coli O157:H7 (35), a situation due to the high
nutritive value of the meat, which creates an ideal culture
medium for the growth of many organisms (2). The fact
that many of the contaminating organisms are associated
with foodborne illnesses in humans makes their potential

*Corresponding author: Phone: +27617124784; Fax: +2348107032705; E-mail: olobatoke.roseline@yahoo.com

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