Abstract:
Avocado fruit are nutrient rich foods which are consumed throughout the world. However,
improperly prepared avocado fruit and its juices are recognized as causes of food borne illnesses.
Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine microbial quality of avocado juice and
avocado fruit used for preparation of avocado juice from juice houses of Merawi town. A cross
sectional study was conducted from February to May, 2019 and all sampling site was used.
Thirty avocado juices and thirty avocado fruit samples were collected from five juices house of
Merawi town and analyzed for aerobic mesophilic count (AMC), Staphylococcal aureus count
(SAC), total coliform count (TCC), enterobacteriaceae count (EC), yeast and mold count (YMC).
Questionnaires were distributed for 16 juice makers to obtain information on hygienic and safety
practices of fruit juice makers. The mean of AMC, SAC, TCC, EC and YMC of avocado juice
were 5.43, 4.42, 4.35, 4.4l and 3.4log10cfu/ml respectively. The mean of AMC, SAC, TCC, EC
and YMC in avocado fruit surface were 5.54, 4.58, 4.25, 4.27 and 3.32log10cfu/g respectively.
Similarly, the mean of AMC, SAC, TCC, EC and YMC in avocado fruit peel were 5.31, 4.27,
4.18, 4.2 and 3.22log10cfu/g respectively. So, the mean value of AMC and SAC were high in
avocado fruit surface whereas the mean value of TCC, EC and YMC were high in avocado juice.
Additionally, the dominant bacterial groups isolated from avocado juice and fruits were
Klebsiella spp. 29 followed by Salmonella spp. 8 Most juices house obtained fruits directly from
producers and all juice maker lack special training in food hygiene and safety. In general, in
almost all juice houses poor handling and hygienic conditions were observed that probably cause
contamination. Therefore, maintain the quality and safety conditions of avocado fruit and
providing regular training for food handlers are some of the practices to improve microbial
quality and shelf-life of fruits and their products.