MICROBIOLOGICAL AND MICROBIAL ASSESSMENT OF COMMERCIALLY PREPARED YOGHURTS SOLD IN ENUGU

Yoghurt is a cultural diary product produced by lactic fermentation of milk (Hui, 1992). Yoghurt is produced by the controlled fermentation of milk by two species of bacteria; Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Strptococcus thermophilus. These two species of bacteriae have now been established as the yoghurt starters. Any sort of milk may be used to make yoghurt, but modern production is dominated by cow milk. It is the fermentation of the milk sugar (Lactose) into lactic acid that gives yoghurt its gel-like texture and characteristics tang (Davis, 1974). 
ABSTRACTFermented milk products such as yoghurt contain bacteria from the lactobacilli group. These bacteria occur naturally in the digestive tract and have a cleansing and healing effect. The objective of this study was to investigate the level of microbial contamination of yoghurts sold in Enugu Urban. Six different brands of bottle packaged yoghurt were brought from hawkers and beverage stores in Enugu Urban. Each sample was serially diluted using sterile distilled water as diluents (Prescolt et al 2002) and Iml of 10-3 sample was plated in duplicate using the pour plate method on MacConkey agar and nutrient agar media the plates were incubated at 370C for the 24hrs. The result obtained from the microbiological analysis showed that product were contaminated by microorganisms of public health concern the high heterotrophic bacterial and coliform counts may be a consequence of low level of hygiere maintained during the processing by some of the producers of the product. 
 TABLE OF CONTENTSCHAPTER ONEINTRODUCTION
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEWChemical Composition Of MilkHistory of YoghurtTraditional Method of Yoghurt ProductionProcessing Of Yoghurt Yoghurt Quality Yoghurt PasteurizationYoghurt Preservation Refrigeration of YoghurtYoghurt Flavour Quality Control of YoghurtMicrobiological AnalysisPathogenic Bacteria Yoghurt Spoilage      Biochemical Analysis  Yoghurt pH 
CHAPTER THREEMaterials And MethodsSample CollectionAnalysis Of Sample Identification Of IsolatesBacteria Identification  Biochemical Tests 
CHAPTER FOUR Results
CHAPTER FIVEDiscussionConclusion And RecommendationReferenceAppendix