Fungal Contamination of Locally Processed Nigerian Food (Okpa): A Threat to Public Health

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the level of contamination associated with locally processed Vignea subterranea (okpa) flour in Nigeria.

Study Design: The completely randomized experimental design was adopted for this study.

Place and Duration of Study: The staff laboratory in University of Calabar Cross River State Nigeria was used for this research, within the space of two months.

Methodology: Standard microbiological research methods were adopted for the culture, isolation and identification of fungi. Spore heads and hyphae growth were compared with standard mycological atlas.

Results: Locally processed Vigna subterranea from South Eastern Nigeria markets and mills were analyzed for level of fungal contamination. Aspergillus niger, Trychophyton spp, Penicillium spp, Rhizopus nigrican, Chrysosporium spp, Geotrichum spp, Mucor spp and Syncephalastrum spp were identified at a percentage occurrence of 20.6, 5.6, 17.7, 20.6, 8.8, 2.9, 20.6 and 2.9 respectively. The Mean (x) percentage growth of fungal species was 12.46, a standard deviation (δ) of 8.19 and Variance (S.D)² of 67.08.

Conclusion: Locally processed V. subterranea in Nigeria can pose harm to the consumers of the food due to poor hygienic practice, unethical conduct and production inefficiency by food processors and handlers. Deliberate efforts must be made to curb the chances of contamination by microorganism especially fungi that may likely pose some level of resistance to heat.