ANTI-MICROBIAL EFFECTS OF DRIED FERMENTED PAWPAW (Carica papaya) SEEDS UNDER DIFFERENT REFRIGERATED STORAGE ON MEAT FROM BROILER CHICKEN.

Abstract

Poor handling and safety of meat products in most developing countries of the world, occasioned by increase in poultry meat consumption necessitated the use of unconventional feed ingredients with potent pharmaceutical materials in lowering the microbial loads of meat products, hence, the use of fermented dried Pawpaw seed. Pawpaw fruits were locally sourced and the seeds neatly removed, anaerobically fermented for 48 hours before drying for 14 days. The dried fermented pawpaw seeds (FPS) were milled and added to the broiler feed at varying inclusion levels (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%). One hundred and fifty birds were randomly selected on the basis of weighted average of 1.5kg from a population of 200 birds. The birds were divided into five treatments and each treatment was replicated thrice with 10 birds per replicate. The birds were humanely slaughtered at 8 weeks and a small portion of the thigh muscle was cut with a sterilized Scissors from each treatment. Each sample was stored in a refrigerator for 0, 1, 3 and 6 days. The samples were analyzed in the laboratory using serial dilution method to determine the microbial loads on each treatment in relation to the varying days of storage. The result showed no significant differences (P>0.05) on days 0, 1 and 3 in the bacterial loads across all treatments. However, treatments 4 (15%) and 5 (20%) had pronounced influence (P<0.05) on day 6, indicating that FPS has the tendency to lower microbial loads of stored meat products. The fungal load across all the treatments however did not show any specific effect.