BACTERIAL EMPIRE 2020, VOL. 3, NO. 3, 58-61 58 A REVIEW OF STREET GRILLED MEAT (SUYA) IN BENIN CITY, NIGERIA: A POTENTIAL PUBLIC HEALTH RISK Okhuebor Shadrach Osalumhense 1 , Izevbuwa Osazee Ekundayo 2 Address (es): ¹ Faculty of life sciences, Department of Microbiology, University of Benin, P.M.B. 1154, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. ² Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences, Igbinedion University Okada, P.M.B. 0006, Edo State, Nigeria. *Corresponding author: osasokhuebor@yahoo.com https://doi.org/10.36547/be.2020.3.3.58-61 ABSTRACT Suya originated in the northern parts of Nigeria is ready to eat grilled skewered meat products prepared in different forms spiced with locally sourced, commonly produced by the Hausas in Northern Nigeria. It has permeated Nigerian society, being affordable for all and available everywhere. It is produced from boneless meat hung on stick and spiced with peanut cake, salt, vegetable oil and other flavourings followed by roasting around a glowing charcoal fire. It’s generally made with skewered beef, ram, or chicken. Innards such as kidney, liver, and tripe are also used. Suya are of three main forms namely Tsire, Kilishi, and Balangu, and Tsire is the most commonly preferred. In Benin City, which is located in the southern part of Nigeria, Suya has become a very common street food delicacy scattered most major areas and are sold mostly in the evening time, only very few vendors will sell Suya in the day time. Concerns have been raised in many research regarding the public health risk of consuming suya, part of which is food poisoning, as a result microbial contamination such as Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, aflatoxigenic molds, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Proteus vulgaris, Klebseilla pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Candida spp., Salmonella enteritica and Enterobacter spp. Trace metals such as zinc, lead, manganese, iron, and copper have been observed in suya in concentrations exceeding recommended tolerable upper intake levels which can consequently cause serious long term health issues. This study reviews the potential public health risk of consuming street grilled meat (Suya) in Benin City. Keywords: Suya, public health, contamination, hygiene, food handling, food poisoning INTRODUCTION Meats are rich sources of essential and beneficial minerals needed for body morphological processes. Eating meat, a good source of proteins and fats, plays a major role in the intake of a number of nutritional and trace elements in human health (Adebiyi et al., 2008). Ready to eat meat products in Nigeria are prepared in different forms, one of which is the grilled skewered meat, spiced with locally sourced, mixed dry ingredients that is prepared and sold on the street. Suya is commonly produced by the Hausas in Northern Nigeria. It is produced from boneless meat hung on stick and spiced with peanut cake, salt, vegetable oil and other flavorings followed by roasting around a glowing charcoal fire. It’s generally made with skewered beef, ram, or chicken. Innards such as kidney, liver, and tripe are also used (Eke et al., 2012). suya is classified into three main forms namely Tsire, Kilishi, and Balangu (Igene &Mohanned, 1981; Ahmadu &Aduwa, 2015). Among the three forms of suya product, Tsire is the most commonly preferred. Although Suya originated in the northern parts of Nigeria, it has permeated Nigerian society, being affordable for all and available everywhere. It has been called a unifying factor in Nigeria (Ekanem, 1998). Suya has become a Nigerian national dish with different regions claiming the superiority of their recipe and methods of preparation, but similar grilled meat recipes are common in many West African countries (Egbebi & Seidu, 2011). In Benin City, which is located in the southern part of Nigeria, Suya has become a very common street food delicacy scattered most major areas within Benin City (Ahmadu and Aduwa, 2015). Suya spots in Benin City can be located in almost any place there is a bar or any busy area and the vendors are usually from the Northern part of Nigeria. Suya in Benin City are sold mostly in the evening time, only very few vendors will sell Suya in the day time. Concerns have been raised about the hygienic standards of processing and safety of road side Suya (Obadina et al., 2014). This review is aimed at contributing to knowledge on the potential public health risk of consuming street grilled meat (Suya) in Benin City, raising awareness to spark off public health monitoring on street grilled meat (Suya) in Benin City, Edo state, and consequently in all states in Nigeria where it is sold. SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF SUYA Suya, production in Nigeria remains largely in the hands of small-scale traditional producers and there is little or no information on the economics of its production, especially in Benin City of Edo State. The work of Iliyasu et al., (2013) was on the economic aspect of suya production, the study was conducted in the northern part of Nigeria, Borno State precisely. It is important to know whether suya production is also profitable in the southern part of Nigeria especially Benin City. A study carried out by Ahmadu and Aduwa, (2015) in Benin City Metropolis which comprises mainly Oredo, Egor and Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Areas (LGAs), showed that all of the suya producers were males from northern Nigeria and mostly illitrates who produced suya majorly. The producers depended mainly on family labour for their production. Personal savings was the dominant source of finance available to the suya producers for their business. Consequently, majority of the producers had low initial capital investment in the suya production business. From this study suya and was found to be profitable in Benin City compared to Borno State as seen in the study of Iliyasu et al., (2013) owing to the fact that there is low production of suya in Benin City which makes it expensive and hence higher returns compared with the high production of suya at Borno with higher population of Hausas that are involved in the business. According to economic theory, low production of a commodity which entails its shortage in the market will lead to increase in its price and consequently, higher returns, all things being equal (Adegeye and Dittoh, 1985). Ahmadu et al., (2008) in his study highlighted that the costs of meat, charcoal and labour significantly influenced the gross income from suya. The effect of frequent rainfall experience in Benin City during the wet season created unfavourable weather that often disrupted the suya production business. This is because majority of the producers had their production/sale stands in the open space (Ahmadu and Aduwa, 2015). EFFECT PROCESSING AND PACKAGING METHODS OF SUYA There is no standard recipe for the production of the complex mixture of spices and additives which make up the Suya and the spice mix served with it ( Akpamu et al., 2011). Ingredients may vary according to personal and regional preferences (Egbebi & Seidu, 2011), and may include clove, ginger, red pepper, black pepper, table salt, and groundnut cake, as well as food additives such as monosodium glutamate and maggi cube (Akpamu et al., 2011). Packaging maintains the benefits of food processing after the process is completed, enabling food to travel safely for long distances from their point of origin and still be wholesome at the time of consumption (Joshua et al., 2016). Most of the processors of this meat were found in strategic locations and were people who does not have much formal education and as a result still uses traditional methods of handling, processing and packaging the products, which are considered to be unhygienic, unsafe and can result in rapid deterioration of the processed meat if not consumed within a short period of time. The processors have been accustomed to collecting old newspapers from different homes and using same to package Suya meat for their customers, which are considered to be dirty and dusty, also in some homes where chemicals were being used to control insects like cockroaches and mosquitoes, there is tendency of the chemicals being sprayed on the newspapers, which the chemicals when in contact with the meat and being consumed can poised serious health issues. Besides the fact that the use of old newspapers in packaging of Suya meat product does not give a good professional image to the processor, the printed inks on the papers contain pigments, colorants, binders, additives and photo initiators which can be harmful to the health of the consumer (Rokade et al., 2012). Packaging does not only ensure that foods contains and maintains the amount and forms of the required ingredient and nutrients but also improves the sensory quality and colour