MICROBIAL CONTAMINATION OF RESTAURANT SPOON AND DISH WASHING WATER OF A TERTIARY INSTITUTION IN OFFA, KWARA STATE

The cafeteria (also known as restaurant) is a place where foods are prepared and sold. It is a means of livelihood for a significant number of people in developing countries but the poor hygiene conditions in some of these cafeterias raise worries on microbiological safety. This study was designed to isolate and identify microbial contaminants in spoon and dish washing water of a tertiary institution restaurant, Offa, Kwara State. The dish washing water and spoons were collected from two (2) tertiary institution restaurants. Pour plate and Streak plate method were used in this analysis. The organisms were identified using standard conventional methods which include macroscopic, microscopic and biochemical characterization. The total aerobic plate count ranged from 20.0 x 104 to too numerous to count, while the total fungal and total coliform count were too numerous to count. The bacterial species identified were Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus sp, and Staphylococcus aureus. The fungal species identified were Aspergillus sp, Rhizopus sp, and Penicillium sp. The study revealed critical hygiene concerns in the analyzed spoon and dish washing water, identifying bacterial and fungal contaminants that pose significant health risks.