Microbiological analysis of sugarcane juice and coconut water associated

This study was undertaken to analyse the microbiological properties of street-vended sugarcane juice and coconut water sold by three selected street-vendors along with
their preparation surfaces. A total of 18 beverages and 15 swab samples with 47 direct film samples were collected from 3 stalls in Jeli district, Kelantan. Coliforms and Escherichia coli were chosen as the safety indicator and microbiological content of beverages whereas Staphylococcus load represented the hygienic practices of vendors. Selective agar was used for conventional enumeration of microbial load while Sanita-kun dehydrated medium was used for direct stamping and enumeration of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Sugarcane juice recorded the highest bacterial contamination (2.63±0.01 log CFU/ml) among beverages. Likewise, sugarcane extractor marked up the highest total viable counts (4.13±0.01 log CFU/ml) among the preparation surfaces with presence of coliforms, E. coli and Staphylococcus counts_ The total microbial load of sugarcane juice and coconut water comply with the microbiological standards established by international
legislation with total plate counts <2.7O log CFU/ml. PCR amplification and 168 rRNA analysis were proceed to identify strains of bacteria present on sugarcane juice from all three stalls and a sample of sugarcane extractor using Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) from National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).
16$ rRNA analysis showed the presence of pathogenic Escherichia coli. Escherichia coli strain RM9387 was detected in stall A and stall B sugarcane juice and
Escherichia coli strain c164 in stall C sugarcane juice sample whereas Escherichia fergusonii strain E10 in stall C sugarcane juice extractor.