Microbial Quality of Grilled Guinea Fowl in Tamale Central, Ghana

The consumption of meat is increasing among the public as consumers strive to eat healthy diets. Grilled guinea fowl are usually sold in the Tamale Central Sub-metropolitan, Ghana by the road side by vendors. However, these vendors operate under unhygienic conditions that could make the products susceptible to microbial contamination. The study was conducted to assess the microbial quality of grilled guinea fowl sold in the Tamale Central Sub-metropolitan. The samples were collected from five vending sites and conveyed immediately to Water Research Institute Laboratory, Tamale for Analysis. The grilled guinea fowl samples were immediately analysed for the presence of total coliform, faecal coliform, E. coli, and Salmonella spp using the Membrane Filtration Technique and Pour plate counts for total heterotrophic bacteria.These microbes were identified in all the food samples and the possible sources of contaminants include the equipment and others.