Assessing Food Safety Implications of Multi Antibiotic Resistant Fermented-Food-Condiment-Environment-Adapted Bacteria

Abstract

Problem of Research: Food safety implications of fermented-condiment-adapted bacterial strains, regarding their intrinsic, acquired and transferable antibiotic resistance potentials are yet to be reportedly fully ascertained. Aim: To determine food safety implications of culturalable fermented-condiment-adapted bacterial strains. Methodology: Using the Kirby-Bauer agar disc-diffusion method, phenotypic multi-antibiotic-drug-in-discs resistance (MADIDR) profiles of 138 fermented-condiment-borne (Gram-positive = 71; Gram-negative = 67) bacterial strains from iru, ogiri and okpehe were evaluated by in-discs antibiotics, which are commonly administered in human and animal prophylaxis and therapy. Results: None of the fermented-condiment-adapted bacterial strains was totally susceptible to the test in-discs antibiotics; just five (3.62%: n = 0.7%: Gram-positive: n = 2.9% Gram-negative) strains were mono-resistant, while six (4.37%) were totally or pandrug-resistant (PDR). Of the remaining 92.03% fermented-condiment-adapted-bacterial strains, 6.57% exhibited co-antibiotic drug resistance (CDR); 43.8% (Gram-positive = 17.52%; Gram-negative = 26.28%) were multi-drug resistant (MDR); and 41.55% (Gram-positive = 25.55%: Gram-negative = 16.0%) displayed extensive-drug resistance (XDR). A total of 43.48% Gram-positive and 36.96% Gram-negative bacterial strains were multi-resistant to between four and eight of the test in-discs antibiotics. Overall, augmentin (95.8%), cloxacillin (94.4%) cotrimoxazole (71.8%) and erythromycin (71.8%) were the most-resisted in-discs antibiotics by the condiment-adapted Gram-positive bacteria, while cloxacillin (93.8%), ciprofloxacin (80.0%) and augmentin (76.9%) were the most-resisted in-discs antibiotics by Gram-negative bacteria. Conclusion: Tremendous multi and extensive resistance to in-discs antibiotics were recorded among fermented-food-condiment-environment-adapted bacteria, indicating a serious food safety challenge in the ethnic cottage-food industries, food chain, and the community. Thus, preliminary screening for antibiotic resistance in food-condiment-borne bacteria, using in-discs antibiotics is strongly suggested.