Diagnostic study of some bacterial pollutants isolated from different food and environmental samples in the city of Mosul, Iraq

The research included a study of some bacterial pollutants. 144 samples were collected from different food and environmental sources, including leafy vegetables (celery, cabbage and lettuce), local dairy products (fresh buffalo milk, fresh cow's milk and local cheese), meat products (frozen minced meat, meat (non-frozen minced meat, sausage and chicken) and environmental samples from farm soil and irrigation water taken from the river. The isolates were purified on different culture media, and the total number of aerobic bacteria and the total number of coliform bacteria were calculated, in addition to the isolation and identification of some bacterial genera based on phenotypic and microscopic characteristics and the VITEK2 technique, as 14 genera and different species of bacteria were diagnosed according to the diagnostic keys adopted in the Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology. The results showed that the highest percentage of the total number of aerobic bacteria in food samples was in local cheese samples, reaching 118.3% the highest value was 209 x105 CFU/ml, while the lowest percentage was in fresh cow's milk, amounting to 37.67%. The highest percentage of the total number of coliform bacteria in food samples was in celery, which amounted to 86.3%, and the lowest percentage was in cabbage, which amounted to 28.1%. From the 14 different genera and species of bacteria, that were isolated and diagnosed, the highest percentage of isolation was 68.05% for Escherichia coli. and 34.02% for Proteus spp.; then the lowest percentage of the isolates was to Staphylococcus lentus, which amounted to 4.86%. Using the VITEK2 technique six different species of bacteria were diagnosed, which were: Staphylococcus lentus, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Kocuria kristinae, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus gallinarum and Enterococcus casseliflavus.