EVALUATION OF FUNGAL PATHOGEN AMONG VARIOUS TYPES OF FOOD MATERIALS IN RELATION TO COOKING OR PRESERVATION

Many contaminated foods are one of the sources of food-borne diseases which have an incredible impact on health and survival. Fungal contamination of food may be one of the most persistent and frequently recognized causes of these diseases. In the present study, the effect of cooking and refrigeration methods were used for the food items like vegetables, eggs, and meat to detect the growth of food-borne fungal pathogens. A set of each of the food items was kept raw at room temperature as the control sample. A total of nine fungal species viz Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigates, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus nidulance, Pencillium verrucossum, Mucor spp, Rhizopus nigricans, Syncephalastrum recemosum, and Mycelia sterile were isolated and identified according to their morphological characters. Species wise relative abundance was highest for Aspergillus flavus followed by Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus fumigates. All the isolates present in this study are potential fungal pathogens that are capable of causing serious human hazards.