The Influence of Surface Mycobiota on Sensory Properties of “Istarski pršut” and “Dalmatinski pršut”

This study aimed to identify surface mould species overgrowing the Croatian protected meat products “Istarski pršut” and “Dalmatinski pršut” and their effect on sensory properties. Dry-cured hams were produced in 2018/2019 and obtained from annual fairs. The predominant surface species found on “Dalmatinski pršut” were Aspergillus chevalieri, Penicillium citrinum and Aspergillus cibarius, whereas those overgrowing “Istarski pršut” were Aspergillus proliferans, P. citrinum and Penicillium salamii. The results show species diversity, higher presence, and greater variety of Aspergillus species in “Dalmatinski pršut” in comparison to “Istarski pršut”, and significant variations in 9 of 20 sensory attributes. Principal component analysis revealed a clear distinction between the two, and a large contribution of P. salamii and Penicillium bialowienzense to one principal component. The texture traits, smoky odour, muscle and subcutaneous fatty tissue colour, and mould species found are valuable for product characterisation. The results also indicate that mould species may be responsible for some sensory traits, such as tenderness, juiciness, and lesser freshness.

Diversidade da microbiota de fungos da própolis in natura / Diversity of in natura propolis fungal microbiota

O presente estudo teve por objetivo realizar a identificação dos fungos encontrados na própolis produzido por Apis mellifera L. da Baía do Iguape, Brasil. Para tanto, foram utilizadas técnicas morfológicas, bioquímicas e moleculares, sendo averiguado o perfil de restrição gerado por espaçador interno transcrito (ITS1 e ITS4). O tamanho dos produtos de PCR foi analisado quanto ao perfil de restrição obtidos com endonuclease (HhaI, HaeIII e HinfI) por espécie. Foram identificadas dezesseis espécies de fungos filamentosos: Flavodon flavus, Aspergillus nomius, Aspergillus versicolor, Cladosporium sp., Coniothyrium sidae, Didymella sp., Paecilomyces variotii, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Penicillium citrinum, Fusarium incarnatum, Penicillium chermesinum, Phoma sp., Stagonosporopsis valerianellae, Phoma medicaginis, Paraphoma fimeti e Stagonosporopsis cucurbitacearum; e seis espécies de leveduras: Candida tropicalis, Candida guiliermondii, Candida famata, Kodomala ohmeri, Trichosporon asahiu e Cryptococcus laurentii. Stagonosporopsis cucurbitacearum e leveduras pertencentes ao gênero Candida foram os microrganismos de maior ocorrência nas amostras da própolis provenientes da Baía do Iguape, Brasil.

Fungal Airsporal Contamination of Different Hospital Environments in Lagos, Nigeria

Hospital infections caused by fungi have been frequently reported in hospitalized patients, with a high morbidity and mortality, making it increasingly important to the awareness of air quality. This study is designed to isolate, identify and investigate the occurrence of airborne fungal spores present in various working environments of some selected hospitals within Lagos State, Nigeria. Air samples at six working area (reception, out-patient, male ward, female ward, maternity ward and operating theatre) of the selected hospitals were obtained on triplicate of Sabouraud dextrose agar plates, every week days for six consecutive weeks. Isolated fungi were subsequently identified using both microscopic and macroscopic characteristics. Seven species of fungi belonging to three genera were recovered during this study period; Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, A. species, Candida species, Penicillium citrinum and P. species. The most abundant fungus encountered in this study is A. niger with P. species being the least isolated fungus from all the investigated hospitals. Of the six working areas sampled in the eight hospitals, the reception and out-patient areas appeared to record the highest occurrence of encountered fungi while the examined operating theatre rooms had the least fungal airsporal contaminant. It was gathered from this study that despite the daily cleaning of the investigated hospital working environments with different antiseptic and disinfectants, fungal contaminant was observed throughout the sampled period. We thereby conclude that the hospital environments are continuously monitored in order to identify and eliminate the sources of these fungal spores.

Optimizing the tray dryer temperature and time of white corn flour culture

This research aimed to optimize the tray dryer temperature and time of white corn flour culture by Response Surface Methodology (RSM). There were two cultures used in this research, namely Amylolytic Culture (AC) and Complete Culture (CC). AC consisted of Penicillium citrinum, Aspergillus niger, Acremonium strictum, and Candida famata, while CC consisted of Penicillium chrysogenum, Penicillium citrinum, Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus stolonifer, Rhizopus oryzae, Fusarium oxysporum, Acremonium strictum, Candida famata, Kodamaea ohmeri and Candida krusei/incospicua. The independent variables in this study were drying temperature and time, where the quality indicators used were total viability of mold and yeast, water content, water activity, and pH. This research used a factor response surface methodology. Data were analyzed by ANOVA with an α level of 95%. The result of this research showed that the optimum drying process for AC starter was 40°C for 10 hrs, with characteristic response viability 8.8×107 CFU/g, water activity 0.43, water content 8.90%, and pH 4.05. CC starter showed an optimum drying process at 49°C for 4.5 hrs, with characteristic response viability 4.9×107 CFU/g, water activity 0.49, water content 7.02%, and pH 3.95. The optimum tray dryer temperatures and times were achieved for AC and CC starters.