Chemical composition and microbiological quality of the doner kebabs sold in Tekirdag market

The objective of this research was to determine chemical composition and hygienic quality of the doner kebabs sold in the Tekirdag market. In the chemical analysis; pH, moisture, protein, fat and salt contents as well as some minerals, Na, K, Zn, Fe and Cu, were determined. The samples were examined for aerobic plate count (APC), psychrotrophic bacteria, coliforms, mould and yeast, Clostridium perfringens and Salmonella spp. to observe the hygienic quality of the doner samples. The results of chemical analysis showed 5.86-6.03 pH, 61.28-51.67% moisture, 19.04-26.45% protein, 16.23-14.03% fat, 1.94-3.01% ash, and 1.28-2.08% salt values for the raw-cooked doner kebabs respectively. Chicken doner kebabs had higher pH, percentage protein and Cu content compared to beef doners while they had lower values for the percentage salt, Na, Zn, and Fe contents. The microbiological analysis showed 5.68-4.92 cfu/g APC, 5.14-3.48 cfu/g psychrotrophic bacteria, 4.79-2.88 cfu/g coliforms and 4.96-3.55 cfu/g mould and yeast for the raw-cooked doner kebab samples respectively. In general, chicken doner kebabs had higher APC, psychrotrophic bacteria and coliform counts than the beef doners. Although all of the raw kebabs contained presumptive Salmonella spp., 80% of the cooked chicken and 40% of the cooked beef samples also had these pathogens presumptively. Also, 80% of the raw doners, 60% of cooked chicken and 40% of beef samples contained C. perfringens. In conclusion, it could be proposed from the above data that the doner kebabs sold in Tekirdag market had very low hygienic quality; therefore, they would have a potential hazard for public health. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.