Abstract

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Kulikuli (peanut cake) is a known street snacks prone to fungal infestation due to poor production, handling and storage measures. The study aimed at evaluating the fungal quality of packaged and ginger spiced kulikuli consumed in Umuahia, metropolis, Abia State. Twenty four samples of kulikuli were sourced randomly from markets and supermarkets in Umuahia. Standard methods were adopted to assay the incidence of fungi, fungal load and moisture content of the kulikuli samples. Fungal isolates were identified based on their microscopic and cultural morphology. The moisture content ranged from 4.4 ± 0.03 - 6.3 ± 0.2%, and the total fungal load ranged from 1.7 ± 0.5 - 5.2 ± 0.7 x 105 CFU/g. Forty eight morphologically distinct fungi that belong to 5 genera (Mucor, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Rhizopus and Fusarium) were isolated. Aspergillus had the highest percentage of occurrence (35.4%) and the least occurring genus was Fusarium (8.3%). The least numbers of fungi 4 (8.3%) was recovered from packaged ginger spiced samples. This study suggest that kulikuli should be properly handled, packaged and spiced with appropriate quantity of herbs so as to reduce mould contamination of the snacks.

Keywords: Kulikuli; Fungi; Packaged; Ginger, Contamination