Prawn, a source of animal protein is one of the commonest in Africa and Asia countries. The
short supply of animal protein in Nigeria to a level almost beyond the reach of the low income
earners has also made this group of seafood an alternative source of animal protein. This project
research however is aimed at assessing the micro-organisms associated with smoked prawns
gotten from a major market location in the ancient city of Abeokuta. These samples collected
from [Itoku, Omida, Iberekodo, Lafenwa, Panseke, Olomore includes the carapace, entails and
exoskeleton of the prawn {Machrobranchium spp}. Twelve different prawn samples were
purchased from the various market locations by purchasing them from two different locations in
each market. Microbial risk assessment of these smoked prawns (ready to eat) was done in the
microbiology laboratory and this analysis was done using Mac- conky agar (MA), Deoxycholate
citrate agar (DCA), Nutrient agar (NA) & Mamitol salt agar (MSA) to isolate bacteria, while
Potatoe Dextrose agar (PDA) was used to isolate fungi. The total bacterial counts for all the
samples ranged from 1.0x103
to 9x102
. The microorganism isolated and identified in the various
markets implies that the bacteria families: Staphylococcus aureus and Citrobacter species
(22.22% each) dominated the samples while the fungi family that occurred most frequently in the
samples is Aspergillus niger (31.03). The isolated bacteria have been implicated in various health
risks such as food poisoning, food spoilage and medical complications. The health implication to
consumers and the public health importance was also revealed in the study.