INVESTIGATING THE PROXIMATE COMPOSITION AND LEVELS OF MICROBIAL CONTAMINATION OF DIFFERENT BRANDS OF YOGHURT SOLD IN ELELE MARKET, RIVERS STATE

Yoghurt is a fermented dairy product widely consumed because of its nutritional value and health benefits. However, poor hygiene du ring production, storage, transportation, and marketing can lead to microbial contamination, posing a risk to consumers. This study investigated the proximate composition and levels of microbial contamination of different brands of yoghurts sold in Elele Market, Rivers State, Nigeria. Five yoghurt brands were sampled, with three samples collected from each brand, giving a total of fifteen samples. Proximate composition was determined using standard analytical procedures, standard microbiological methods were used in the enumeration and characterization of microorganism. While pH was measured using a digital pH meter. The proximate analysis indicated that disparity in the nutritional content of the yoghurt brands, with moisture content ranging from 82.90 to 87.58%, protein from 1.89 to 3.20%, ash from 0.52 to 0.75%, all yoghurt had similar fibre content of 0.00%, lipid from 1.40 to 2.30 and carbohydrate from 6.40 to 11.25. Differences were observed in the nutritional components across the brands. Microbiological analysis showed disparity in bacterial and fungal load across samples. The microbial counts ranged as follows. Total heterotrophic bacterial count ranged from 0.3×10⁵ to 1.1×10⁵ CFU/mL; Coliform count 0.1x 10³ to 0.4×10³ CFU/mL; Staphylococcus aureus count 0.2 x 10³ to 0.3×10³ CFU/mL; and fungi count 0.2 x 10³ to 0.4×10³ cfu/ml. The microorganisms isolated and their percentage occurrence were; Lactobacillus spp. (58.5%), Staphylococcus aureus (14.1%), Escherichia coli (8.2%), Bacillus spp. (14.0%), Salmonella spp. (5.2%) for bacteria while the fungi species include: Aspergillus spp. (25%), Penicillium spp. (50%), Mucor spp. (25%). The pH values were within the normal acidic range for yoghurt (4.64-4.73). The study concludes that although some yoghurt brands were microbiological safe, improved hygienic practices, effective quality control, and regular monitoring are necessary to ensure the safety of yoghurt sold in Elele Market.