Bacteriological assessment of mashed street food (Bharta) and their antibiotic susceptibility phenomena in Dhaka city, Bangladesh

Hridoy Chandra Bhoumik; Iqbal Hossain; Antora Sutradhar; Niloy Tarafder; Abu Zihad; Dayanidhi Sarkar

doi:10.18502/jfsh.v11i1.20612

Hridoy Chandra Bhoumik Department of Microbiology, Primeasia University, Banani, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Iqbal Hossain Department of Microbiology, Primeasia University, Banani, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Antora Sutradhar Department of Microbiology, Primeasia University, Banani, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Niloy Tarafder Department of Microbiology, Primeasia University, Banani, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Abu Zihad Department of Microbiology, Primeasia University, Banani, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Dayanidhi Sarkar Department of Microbiology, Primeasia University, Banani, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jfsh.v11i1.20612

Keywords: Multidrug resistant organisms; Antioxidant; Hygiene; Food-borne diseases; Escherichia coli; Staphylococcus aureus; Salmonella spp

Abstract

Chitoi Pitha (a cake made from rice powder) is one of the most popular traditional street foods inBangladesh. What makes Chitoi Pitha truly special is the Bharta that accompanies it. Bharta meansmashed raw food items. There are many types of Bharta, usually made with vegetables/fish/seeds.Among them, Mustard seed bharta, dried fish bharta, and Coriander leaf bharta are very popular,especially in the winter season. The raw bharta is tasty. Heating of bharta loses its taste and flavors.Since they are typically eaten raw and without heat treatment or thorough washing, they serve asvectors for the transmission of pathogenic microorganisms. These vectors spread multidrug-resistantpathogens among the large population. A total of 24 bharta samples were collected from 8 differentareas of Dhaka city. Selective and non-selective media were used to isolate and enumerate thebacteria. Gram-negative and Gram-positive organisms were 63% and 37% respectively. From the61 isolates, there were Staphylococcus aureus (36%), E. coli (31.1%), Salmonella spp. (13.1%),Klebsiella spp. (13.1%), and Vibrio spp. (6.5%). Antibiotic susceptibility testing showedPiperacillin, Imipenem, and Co-Trimoxazole were effective against most of the strains, but some ofthe organisms were multidrug resistant.