Determination of the Bacteriological Quality of Weaning Porridges and Purees Consumed by Children Aged 6 to 24 Months at the Guinea Institute of Nutrition and Child Health

Abstract

The feeding of children during weaning must be of good quality, this is essential, and it must not be a source of contamination to ensure the well-being of children. The objective of this work was to determine the bacteriological quality of the porridges and purees of weaning consumed by children from 6 to 24 months at the INSE of Guinea. For this, a descriptive study of analytical type was carried out over a period of 4 months at the INSE of Guinea. This study found that total mesophilic flora, faecal streptococci, staphylococci, and salmonella were consistent with sanitary standards in Plantin-enriched peanut paste and groundnut paste samples. They had respective bacteriological qualities of 90% and 60%. Fecal coliform contamination and ASR were observed respectively in the samples of rice husk remnants enriched with peanut paste and planting banana purée with respective values 50% and 40%. From the point of view of tampering, the samples of rice ground meal enriched with groundnut paste and Plantin banana purees were severely affected by the total coliforms at 40% and 60% respectively. In the end, poor hygiene practice during preparation increases the risk of food contamination; however, hygienic measures must be taken to improve the hygienic quality of food to maintain good health of children.