IOSR Journal of Pharmacy and Biological Sciences (IOSR-JPBS) e-ISSN: 2278-3008, p-ISSN:2319-7676. Volume 9, Issue 3 Ver. IV (May -Jun. 2014), PP 33-35 www.iosrjournals.org www.iosrjournals.org 33 | Page Microbial Quality of “AKAMU” (OGI) Sold in NNEWI Markets, Anambra State, Nigeria *Ezendianefo, J.N. and Dimejesi, S.A. Department of Microbiology Tansian University, Umunya, Anambra State, Nigeria Abstract: The study was on microbiological quality of “akamu” (ogi) sold at Nnewi markets. The “akamu” samples were collected aseptically from five different markets in Nnewi. These samples were taken to the laboratory immediately and were analyzed using standard microbiological and biochemical methods. Escherichia species, Staphylococcus species, Klebsiella species, Streptococcus species and Pseudomonas species were the bacteria isolated while Mucor species, Aspergillus species and Fusarium species were the fungi isolated. The total bacteria counts ranged from 3.0 x 10 8 to 7.5 x 10 8 cfu/g while that of fungi ranged from 0.6 x 10 8 to 1.0 x 10 8 cfu/g. The high microbial count is attributable to poor hygienic practices during the processing and post processing handling of the “akamu”. Keywords: Akamu, Microbial count, Hygienic practices and Nnewi. I. Introduction “Akamu” (ogi) is a name given to a popular fermented cereal porridge made from these crops: maize, sorghum, millet, to mention but a few. “Akamu” is a nutritive diet that is mostly eaten at infancy as a weaning food. But adults also enjoy this delicacy. Production of “akamu” is carried out mainly by local producers, and there is risk of high microbial contamination which often makes the food products undesirable due to the presence of organisms that cause food spoilage, food poisoning or food intoxication in the food product (Awada et al., 2005). Food poisoning and infection can lead to fatal consequences in infected individuals, and the major risk factors are attributable to contaminated raw materials, poorly controlled fermentation conditions, poor personal/environmental hygiene and post processing handling. More so, production of maize pap is laborious, time-consuming and the issue of locality differences which results in the variable nature, non specified quality indices, unknown shelf life and lack of safety indices of the “akamu” products. Therefore, there is every need to develop methods to extend the shelf life while maintaining the economic, safety, nutritional and total quality of “akamu” in order to meet the increasing demand and also proffer health benefits to the final consumers. The aim of this research work is to examine the microbiological quality of “akamu” by isolation, characterization and identification of the microbial species present in different selected samples of “akamu” in Nnewi metropolis. II. Material And Methods Five representative “akamu” samples were purchased from local producers in five different open markets in Nnewi. The samples were taken to the laboratory in sterile containers for analysis within 24 hours. Five grams of each “akamu” (ogi) samples was dissolved in 45ml of distilled water. Then 1 ml of the sample suspension was diluted using a ten-fold serial dilution prior to their inoculation on nutrient agar, MacConkey agar and Sabouraud dextrose agar. The microbiological examination of the “akamu” samples included the enumeration and identification of microbiological contents as described by Duiguid, (1975) and Okafor (1999). The total viable counts was obtained using TVC = N/VxD where TVC = Total Viable count, N = mean colony, V = volume plated and D = Dilution. The organisms isolated were then sub-cultured and the pure cultures were characterized using Gram staining and biochemical tests such as motility test, catalase test, coagulase test, citrate test, indole test, Methyl red test, Voges-Proskauer test and sugar fermentation test. Also, the conformation of both bacterial and fungal isolates were done with reference to standard bacteriological and mycological manuals.