Bacteriological safety assessment, hygienic habits and cross-contamination risks in a Nigerian urban sample of household kitchen environment Bernard O. Ejechi & Ono P. Ochei Received: 26 January 2017 /Accepted: 21 May 2017 /Published online: 28 May 2017 # Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017 Abstract Urban household kitchen environment was assessed for safety by determining their levels of indi- cator bacteria, hygienic habits and risk of cross-contam- ination. Household kitchens (60) were selected in Warri Town, Nigeria, by the multi-stage sampling technique. Contact surfaces, water and indoor kitchen air were analysed for aerobic plate counts, total and faecal coli- forms using Nutrient and McConkey media by swab/ rinse method, membrane filtration and sedimentation methods, respectively. Hygienic habits and risk of cross-contamination were assessed with structured questionnaire which included socio-demographic vari- ables. On the basis of median counts, the prevalence of high counts (log cfu/cm 2 /m 3 /100 mL) of aerobic plate counts (>3.0), total coliforms (>1.0) and faecal coli- forms (>0) on contact surfaces and air was high (58.0– 92.0%), but low in water (30.0–40.0%). Pots, plates and cutleries were the contact surfaces with low counts. Prevalence of poor hygienic habits and high risk of cross-contamination was 38.6 and 67.5%, respectively. Education, occupation and kitchen type were associated with cross-contamination risk (P = 0.002–0.022), while only education was associated with hygienic habits (P = 0.03). Cross-contamination risk was related (P = 0.01–0.05) to aerobic plate counts (OR 2.30; CL 1.30–3.17), total coliforms (OR 5.63; CL 2.76–8.25) and faecal coliforms (OR 4.24; CL 2.87–6.24), while hygienic habit was not. It can be concluded that urban household kitchens in the Nigerian setting are vulnera- ble to pathogens likely to cause food-borne infections. Keywords Indicator bacteria . Hygienic habits . Cross- contamination . Food-borne illness . Household kitchen Introduction Many reports have shown that food-borne disease is a world-wide problem (e.g. Batz et al. 2012; DeWaal and Glassman 2013; Greig and Ravel 2009; WHO 2012). The home and particularly the kitchen environment is now being recognised as a major source of food borne illness (Beumer and Kusumaningrum 2003; Borrusso et al. 2015; Byrd-Bredbenner et al. 2013; Gerba et al. 2014; Gould et al. 2013; Rodriguez-Marval et al. 2010; Tyagi and Tyagi 2013). The reason is that people eat at home most of the time and are therefore vulnerable to causative agents of food-borne illness when the hygienic condition in the home is poor. Poor kitchen hygiene can result in food-borne disease, and indeed, a substantial number of cases of food-borne illnesses have been re- ported to be associated with food eaten at home (Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2013; McCabe- Sellers and Beattie 2004; Redmond and Griffith 2003). Apart from poor handling and other unhy- gienic practices in the kitchen, cross-contamination of food is another source of concern. It occurs when microorganisms are transferred to food that is ready-to-eat. The transfer can occur from Environ Monit Assess (2017) 189: 298 DOI 10.1007/s10661-017-6016-1 B. O. Ejechi (*) : O. P. Ochei Department of Microbiology, Delta State University, P. M. B. 1, Abraka, Nigeria e-mail: ejechiben@gmail.com