Frequency rates of fungal contaminants in imported meats from alexandrian retail markets

Secondary metabolites excreted by fungal contaminants of foods can lead to fatal health problems. This study investigated one hundred samples of imported frozen meat collected from different Alexandria markets both quantitatively and qualitatively for fungal burden. Both different molds and yeasts were detected with (mean ± SD) and range (48.4± 2.01) x 103 and (2 - 9) x 104 CFU/gm for molds, besides (51.5 ± 1.99) x 103 and (2 - 9) x 104 CFU/gm, respectively. Molds were detected in 92% of samples with the following decreasing order: Aspergillus species (73.9%), Penicillium species (56.5%), Cladosporium species (51.1%), Rhizopus species (44.6%), Mucor species (39.1%), Alternaria species (34.8 %), Trichoderma species (26.1%), Helminthosporium species (22.9%), Phialophora species (18.5%), Geotrichum species (15.2%), Fusarium species (13.0%), Epidermophyton species (9.8%), Paecilomyces species (8.7%) and Trichophyton species (4.3%), respectively. In addition, yeasts were found in tested meat samples in the following descending order: Candida species (64.9%), Torulopsis species (24.5%) and Rhodotorulla species (17.0 %), respectively. Details of the above mentioned results and its ramifications on meat qualities and public health will be discussed in the text.