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375042

ASSESSMENT OF FUNGAL CONTAMINATION IN SOME CHEESE VARIETIES WITH ATTEMPTS TO CONTROL ITS GROWTH

Article

Last updated: 28 Dec 2024

Subjects

-

Tags

Milk hygiene & milk product

Abstract

The objective of this study was to isolate and identify molds in processed, kareish, and ras (roumy) cheese samples obtained from Kafrelshiekh city, Egypt. Additionally, the study aimed to conduct trials to control mold growth and measure the levels of aflatoxin M1 and ochratoxin A in some cheese samples. Out of 60 randomly selected samples, 31 (51.67%) were found to be positive for the presence of various mold species, with frequencies of 45%, 55%, and 55% in processed, kareish, and ras cheese samples, respectively. The mean mold counts were 2.51 ± 1.90 cfu/g, 3.42 ± 2.48 cfu/g, and 2.59 ± 1.79 cfu/g (log 10), respectively. Several mold species were identified in the positive samples, including Penicillium spp., Aspergillus spp., Mucor spp., Alternaria spp., Fusarium spp., Geotrichum candidum, Chrysonilia sitophila, and Endomyces fibuligera. PCR analysis and the detection of aflatoxin regulatory genes (aflR, Ver1, Nor1, and omtA) were employed to assess the afla-toxigenicity of three Aspergillus flavus isolates. All three isolates tested positive for the aflR and Ver1 genes; one isolate was positive for the omtA gene, while the Nor1 gene was not detected in any of the three isolates. Additionally, three Aspergillus niger isolates were tested for ochratoxin production using PCR to identify the Pks gene, revealing that the Pks gene was present in two of the isolates. The levels of AFM1 and ochratoxin A in the cheese samples under examination were found to be below the permitted limits outlined by ISO 14675 and EC 1881, respectively. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that natamycin (0.015%) combined with thyme oil (2%) effectively inhibited the growth of A. flavus and A. niger in vitro, indicating their potential use in cheese production to prevent mold growth and the associated economic losses during storage.

DOI

10.21608/avmj.2024.301905.1296

Keywords

Aflatoxigenic and ochra-toxigenic genes, Aflatoxin M1 and ochratoxins, cheese, fungi, Natamycin and thyme oil

Authors

First Name

SHEREEN

Last Name

YASSIN

MiddleName

ABDELFATTAH

Affiliation

Food Hygiene Department, Animal Health Research Institute, Kafrelsheikh Lab, Agriculture Research Center (ARC), Egypt.

Email

shereen_color@yahoo.com

City

Egypt, kafrelsheikh government

Orcid

0000-0003-3732-508x

First Name

SABREEN

Last Name

FADL

MiddleName

EZZAT

Affiliation

Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Matrouh University, Matrouh, Egypt.

Email

nourmallak@mau.edu.eg

City

-

Orcid

0000-0001-5541-6159

First Name

WALAA

Last Name

ELKASSAS

MiddleName

MOHAMED

Affiliation

Food Hygiene Department, Animal Health Research Institute, Kafrelsheikh Lab, Agriculture Research Center (ARC), Egypt.

Email

w.elkasas77@yahoo.com

City

Egypt, kafrelsheikh government

Orcid

0000-0001-5077- 1223

Volume

70

Article Issue

183

Related Issue

49234

Issue Date

2024-10-01

Receive Date

2024-07-05

Publish Date

2024-10-01

Page Start

208

Page End

222

Print ISSN

1012-5973

Online ISSN

2314-5226

Link

https://avmj.journals.ekb.eg/article_375042.html

Detail API

https://avmj.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=375042

Order

17

Type

Research article

Type Code

1,840

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Assiut Veterinary Medical Journal

Publication Link

https://avmj.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

ASSESSMENT OF FUNGAL CONTAMINATION IN SOME CHEESE VARIETIES WITH ATTEMPTS TO CONTROL ITS GROWTH

Details

Type

Article

Created At

28 Dec 2024