| dc.description.abstract | ABSTRACT
The aim of the study was to isolate and identify the fungi associated with spoilage of commercial bread and determine the moisture content of different types of bread in Kisaasi village Kampala-Uganda. The study was cross-section in nature and 48 bread samples were used. These were collected from different shops and exposed for 12 days to different environmental conditions and observed for daily spoilage. Sabouraud's Dextrose Agar (SDA) was used for culturing of the fungal organisms. The five fungal organisms found to be associated with the spoilage of bread were Aspergillus flavus (16.7%), Rhizopus spp (14.6%), Aspergillus niger (8.3%), Mucor spp (6.3%) and Penicillum spp (4.2%). However, the highest contaminations by A. flavus were obtained from A and B types (37.5%) as compared to the 12.5% obtained from both C and D types. The Rhizopus spp reported in this study was isolated from three types of bread (B, C and D), A. niger was isolated from only two types of bread (A and C) and similarly, Mucor spp reported was isolated from A and B types only whereas all the Penicillum (100%) isolates were obtained from type A. Fungal growth was only obtained in the bread samples kept in zip lock bags. The rest of the samples in the other study conditions (under the sun, at room temperature and refrigeration) did not have fungal growth. The percentage moisture content of the different types of bread examined were; type A (34.5%), B (31.5%) and C (29.5%). The lowest percentage moisture content was obtained in the type D (24.0%). Statistical analysis showed a statistically significant difference between the moisture content of the four types of bread (p=0.019) at 95% confidence level. The numbers of days taken for the growth of the fungi were also recorded for each type of bread. The longest duration was observed with D (11.33 days), followed by C (9.66 days) and B (7.33 days). The shortest duration taken for fungal growth to occur was observed in type A, 5 days for fungi to appear. Analysis also showed a statistically significant difference in the duration taken for appearance of growth among the different brands of bread (p <0.05). More studies should be carried out to identity the impacts of the various ingredients that are used in bread manufacturing on fungi spoilage of bread. | en_US |
