Evaluation of bacteriological quality and safety of sugarcane juice locally processed and vended in Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania

The prevalence of foodborne illness linked to the intake of freshly squeezed juices sold by street vendors is on the rise, despite the widespread use of these beverages by millions of people in developing nations. Hence, a study was undertaken to evaluate the microbiological standard and safety of locally processed and street-vended sugarcane juices in Dar es Salaam to ascertain their present condition. A total of 60 samples of sugarcane juice were gathered and examined. Street vendors involved in the sugarcane juice business were interviewed followed by physical-chemical and microbiological laboratory analysis. The pH of unpasteurized sugarcane juice was 4.8 and 4.9 for iced and raw, respectively while the pH for pasteurized and pasteurized juice in which citric acid was added were receptively, 4.3 and 3.1. The average level of titratable acidity was 0.083%. The Soluble solids (°Brix) of unpasteurized raw, iced and pasteurized sugarcane juice ranged from 12.2- 22.1, 2.4-13.8 and 14.1-15.8. The total plate counts (TPC) of unpasteurized sugarcane juice showed a mean of 5.592 and 5.64 log cfu/mL for raw and iced sugarcane juice, respectively. About 90% of samples were above TBS and Codex recommended maximum limits of 3.7 to 4 log cfu/mL or 5×10³- 10⁴ cfu/mL. Unpasteurized raw and iced sugarcane juice were contaminated with 1.79 and 2.10 log cfu/mL of E. coli while no typical Salmonella spp. was detected in all 60 samples. The study concluded that the microbiological quality and overall handling practices associated with unpasteurized sugarcane juice sold in Dar es Salaam City were substandard.