ABSTRACT

The people of Saudiarabia are often suffering from food poisoning and other health diseases. The isolation of pathogens from domestic refrigerators was performed to determine the prevalence of pathogenic microorganisms. Samples (n = 150) were obtained from domestic refrigerators of various parts of Jeddah, Saudiarabia. In these samples, Staphylococcus aureus was isolated about 9.55%, Salmonella sp 3.8%, E. coli 2.2 %, and Listeria monocytogenes from 1.6% of examined refrigerators. But, Campylobacter spp. were not obtained from any refrigerators. The study estimated total viable count (TVCs) ranging from 3.8 1og10 cfu/cm2 to 9.7log10 cfu/cm2 and total coliform count (TCCs) ranging from 0.060 1og10 cfu/cm2 to 7.65 log10 cfu/cm2 These findings indicating very poor standards of consumer refrigerator management and hygiene, and posing risks to consumer health. The findings of this study highlight the importance of adequate temperature control and thorough, regular cleaning of their refrigerators to ensure prompt food safety.

Keywords : Pathogenic bacteria; Refrigerator; households; bacteriological quality; Sanitation and hygiene