A. A. Onilude, R. O. Igbinadolor* and S. M. Wakil
Abstract: Post harvest deterioration by microbes due to improper storage condition is considered to be the major cause of spoilage of most seeds like cashew nuts. Roasted cashew nuts were subjected to 4 different storage conditions with different relative humidity of 30, 70, 80 and 90%, respectively, for a period of 12 days. Each storage condition was examined for microbial growth, crispiness, pH changes, moisture content and other parameters. 8 fungal species identified as Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus sp., Penicillium sp., Trichoderma sp., Botryodiplodia sp., Fusarium compactum, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus ochraceous and 3 bacteria isolates identified as Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis and Staphylococcus sp., were obtained. The most predominantly encountered organisms were fungal isolates of Rhizopus sp and A. niger with percentage frequency of 34.9 and 32.6%.[...] Read More.
Keywords: Relative humidity, preservation, microbial load.