Contamination of pasta and the raw materials for its production with moulds of the genera Aspergillus

Abstract

The degree of contamination of pasta (132 samples), flour (86 samples), and egg powder (44 samples) with moulds, with emphasis on the species of genus Aspergillus was investigated . The most frequently isolated genera in the mould samples analysed were those of Aspergillus (70.88%) and Penicillium (21.22%), followed by Mucor, Cladosporium, Rhizopus, Fusarium, Alternaria, Absidia and others. The following species of the Aspergillus genera were prevalent: A. albus (65.66%) and A. flavus (22.01%), followed by A. clavatus, A. amstelodami, A. versicolor, A. ochraceus, A. niger, and others.

Keywords

• pasta
• flour
• egg powder
• moulds
• mycotoxins