Monitoring of marine Bacillus diversity among the bacteria community of sea water

Bacillus species are ubiquitous and diverse both in the terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Efforts were made to enrich for marine Bacillus using the medium containing manganese that stimulate sporegermination an indication of manganese reduction by Bacillus. Two strains identified as Bacillus pumilus using 16S rRNA gene sequence were isolated from Buzzers Bay seawater at 45 feet dept. The strains spores were centrally located and they were able to tolerate 1.0 M NaCl concentration indicating their marine origin. Although, different enrichment medium tested could not support growth of different species of Bacillus in the seawater. The result of the analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of the clone library showed that the bacteria in the seawater are diverse. The diversity of bacteria in the seawater was also indicated by the FISH probe signals showing that marine bacteria at 33-45 dept in Woods Hole sea water are diverse

Development of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) and Enhancement of Microbial Safety Quality during Production of Fermented Legume Based Condiments in Nigeria

Critical control points during production of iru and okpehe, two fermented condiments, were identified in four processors in Nigeria. Physical objects such as stone and metallic objects were mixed in with the seeds; contamination resulted from wet-dehulling by foot pressing and water used in washing. The pH variation during fermentation ranged from 6.9 – 8.5 for both unfermented cotyledon and fermented condiments. Total aerobic viable count (TAVC) ranged from 1.2 – 6.2 Log10CFU/g. Coliforms, enterococci, staphylococci and B. cereus were pathogens detected during processing and post-processing of condiments. This indicates that the processing of condiment using traditional method is subject to microbial contamination. Dry-dehulling, cooking under pressure and inoculation of starter cultures reduced contamination and enhanced safety quality. Training of processors about Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP), processing, environmental sanitation and personal hygiene were suggested as strategies to improve the safety of these traditional fermented condiments

The Cereal Market and the Role of Fermentation in Cereal-Based Food Production in Africa

Cereals represent the main crop in Africa (45% of arable land) and make an important contribution to the human diet in this continent. Cereals for humans are not consumed raw. Fermentation technology is widely used in Africa to transform cereals into edible products as well as to preserve and enhance the nutritional and safety aspects of cereals. In general, in Africa, this process is not controlled and is devoid of good manufacturing practices (GMPs). Spoilage and/or pathogenic microorganisms may compromise the final quality when the fermentation is not controlled. This article focuses on the role that the fermentation process could play in creating safe food conditions in Africa. Taking into account the increasing demand for cereals, in particular maize and rice, which contain undesired microorganisms, fermentation can play an important role in creating food security and safety. Here, the authors report a detailed analysis of the cereal market, the main transformation processes used to obtain a variety of products from cereals, the most current information on the microbial ecology of the most important traditional fermented cereals, and the safety aspects of and the technological parameters for the selection of the strains to be used as starters for African cereal-based fermented products