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WMSU Research On Microbial Analysis of Fresh Miki Noodles Sold in Zamboanga City Public Market

Two students from the Western Mindanao State University studied the handling of fresh miki noodles sold in the public market of Zamboanga City. They collected samples from three stalls at different times of day and tested them for Salmonella sp. and Staphylococcus aureus. While the samples did not contain Salmonella, all samples tested positive for Staphylococcus aureus, with higher counts at noon. The stall with the poorest sanitation practices and food handling had the highest bacterial counts. The researchers recommend the city government impose strict food handling policies in markets and consumers properly store and cook foods to prevent contamination and food poisoning.

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433 views1 page

WMSU Research On Microbial Analysis of Fresh Miki Noodles Sold in Zamboanga City Public Market

Two students from the Western Mindanao State University studied the handling of fresh miki noodles sold in the public market of Zamboanga City. They collected samples from three stalls at different times of day and tested them for Salmonella sp. and Staphylococcus aureus. While the samples did not contain Salmonella, all samples tested positive for Staphylococcus aureus, with higher counts at noon. The stall with the poorest sanitation practices and food handling had the highest bacterial counts. The researchers recommend the city government impose strict food handling policies in markets and consumers properly store and cook foods to prevent contamination and food poisoning.

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WMSU Public Affairs Office
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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WMSU Research on Microbial Analysis of Fresh Miki Noodles sold in Zamboanga

City Public Market


Undeniable lovers of food, Filipinos can cook and eat a wide variety of dishes. One of the staples in
Filipino parties would be pansit—or Chinese-influenced noodle dishes in general. Miki is one noodle
that is cooked by sautéing with meat and other ingredients or blanching with hot soup like batchoy
and pansit bulalo. But how was the noodle handled in the public market before it looked so inviting
on the meal table?

Two students from the Western Mindanao State University studied the handling of fresh miki noodles
in a public market. The miki are sold either packed or by kilo but both exposed on trays in an open
area. This exposure may contaminate the miki of Salmonella sp. or Staphylococcus aureus. In essence,
bacteria contaminations in food can cause either infections or intoxications of the human digestive
system. An infection may be manifested by fever, while intoxication by diarrhea or vomiting. According
to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), these two bacteria are most common and are found in
pasta products and uncooked noodles. In addition, any food prepared in advance and not kept chilled
is a potential cause for food poisoning. According to the study, there were already cases of Salmonella
sp. contamination in fresh miki noodles in Zamboanga City—but these were not published.

Hence, the WMSU group set out to get answers on the possible contamination of miki in a public
market. They collected miki samples from three different stalls at two time frames of the day: 5:00-
6:00am upon delivery to the market and peak selling hours from 10:00am – 1:00pm. The samples
were tested in the Microbiology Room, WMSU; DOST-IX; ZSCMST; and DENR-EMB. While the samples
were safe from Salmonella sp., it was found that all three stall samples were contaminated by
Staphylococcus aureus but noticeably the samples taken at noon time had a higher colony count. This
may be explained by the manner of handling the miki and length of exposure to contaminants such as
flies, the food containers, and other food items. Among the three stalls, one had the highest colony
count and per observation by the researchers it was the same stall that had poor sanitation practices;
improper food storage; and inappropriate attire such as lack of gloves and hairnet, and wearing of
hand/arm accessories.

The group calls on the City Government to formulate and impose strict policies on proper food
handling, especially in the market, where food preparation actually begins. For the consumers, if food
contamination—or worse, food poisoning—by human handlers cannot be prevented, then there
should be adequate refrigeration during storage to prevent toxin formation.

As much as food is most enticing, proper handling is of utmost importance. The public is advised to
handle food properly from delivery to display to preparation and cooking; and make sure that foods
are cooked thoroughly and refrigerated adequately to prevent food poisoning. Love of food goes hand
in hand with its proper handling. (Ayshia F. Kunting, WMSU-RUPID)

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