Mycological Quality of Powdered Pepper (Capsicum annuum) Retailed in Lokoja Markets, Kogi State, Nigeria

Abstract

 Fungal contamination is a significant concern in agricultural commodities such as powdered pepper as it can compromise product safety and quality. This study aimed at assessing the mycological quality of powdered pepper sold in Lokoja markets, Kogi State, Nigeria. A total of forty powdered pepper samples were collected from five different markets and their fungal load were evaluated using culturing and enumeration techniques. The overall prevalence of fungal contamination of the samples was 93.3 % (42/45). Kpata market samples had the highest mean fungal load (4.8 × 103 CFU/g), followed by the Old market samples (4.0 × 103 CFU/g), Adankolo market samples (1.6 × 103 CFU/g), New market samples (1.1 × 10³ CFU/g) while samples from Lokongoma market had the least fungal load of 0.7 × 10³ CFU/g. There was no statistical significant difference between the mean fungal load obtained from the five markets when compared at P < 0.05. Four fungal species: Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus and Rhizopus arrhizus were isolated and identified from the samples. Aspergillus niger (32.5 %) and Rhizopus arrhizus (17.5 %) were the most and least prevalent fungi across the markets respectively. The presence of fungal contaminants especially mycotoxigenic fungi in the powdered pepper samples is a public health concern hence it is recommended that powdered pepper are processed, packed, stored and sold under hygienic condition.