Isolation of some pathogenic microbes associated with spoilt carrots (<i>Daucus carota</i> L.) obtained from local markets in Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria

Abstract

Over the past decades vegetable consumption specifically carrot has been on the rise however, its wastage due to microbial spoilage has been estimated at around 20% annually. In this study, spoilage microbes associated with carrots were identified by employing standard microbiological procedures. Various tests were used to characterize carrots with soft rot symptoms. This study was aimed at assessing microorganisms associated with spoilage of carrots. Seven (7) bacterial species and five (5) fungal species were detected via morphology and biochemical screening. The results showed that Escherichia coli (20%) was recorded the highest prevalence among bacterial isolates while the least prevalence was Shigella sp. (8%). On the other hand, Aspergillus niger was recorded the highest (40%) while the least prevalence of the fungi was Mucor sp. (9%). Results from this study affirmed that both spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms are present in carrots, therefore care must be taken in handling, washing and processing carrots before consumption so as to prevent spoilage that might lead to infections and food-borne outbreaks due to fungi and bacteria.