Microbial Assessment of Kunu Sold in Awka Metropolis

Kunu is a non-alcoholic Nigerian beverage produced locally from cereals and has been widely accepted as a nutritional drink. The need for evaluation of its nutritional and safety status is very much essential. This work was carried out to determine the microbiological quality of “kunu-zaki” beverages sold in Awka metropolis. Three samples of “kunu-zaki” beverages were obtained from three different locations in Awka, Anambra state namely; Amansea, Eke-Akwa and Amawbia, labelled P, Q and R, respectively. These samples were tested for both bacterial and fungal contamination. The results show that for the colony counts from the Kunu samples ranged from 0.5×105 to 3.2 ×105 for total coliform bacteria, 2.5×105 to 4.2×105 for total heterotrophic fungi for the three samples analyzed. Bacterial isolates identification revealed the presence of Bacillus sp, Pseudomonas sp., Escherichia coli and Streptococcus sp, while the fungal isolates include; Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp, Fusarium sp and Saccharomyces sp. The data revealed that all the Kunu drinks sold within the study area were contaminated and also contained different pathogenic microorganisms which can serve as sources of infections to human. Therefore, proper hygienic and sanitary measures need to be enforced during production, processing and packaging of this local beverage drink.