Microbiological Assessment of Branded and Local Ice Cream Samples

Abstract

Ice cream is the commonly used frozen milk product containing several nutrients, serving as media for the growth of microorganisms, potential to cause illness in human especially children. The study was planned to determine and compare the microbiological quality of branded (Movenpick, Walls and Omore) and Local ice cream samples collected from five towns of Lahore city. Total n=30 samples (n=15 from each brand) were collected and subjected to standard microbiological techniques for total viable counting (TVC), total coliform count (TCC) and identification of bacteria. Results showed that mean values of TVC and TCC was nil since no contamination was observed in branded ice cream samples while samples collected from local markets were harboring potential pathogen (100%) with mean value of 1.5×10^5 CFU/g (TVC) and 1.1×10^3 (TCC) ranging from 1.6×10^1 to 2.2×10^3 CFU/g. The confirmed bacteria isolated from samples (Local) were Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, Shigella and E. coli with percentage positivity of 43%, 33%, 49% and 52% respectively. Present study revealed that the local ice cream was contaminated with bacteria i.e. Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, Shigella and E. coli posing a potential hazard to human health while branded ice cream (Movenpick, Walls and Omore) was contamination free. Hygienic measures, pasteurization and HACCP implementation can reduce the risk in ice cream.