Effect of leaf-packaging on the microbiological assessment of some food items

Abstract

Microorganisms associated with leaves of Thaumatococcus daniellii (“ewe eran”), Musa paradisiaca (banana) and Tectona grandis (teak) and the food wrapped in the leaves were investigated. The bacterial isolates from both the leaves and food include Bacillus cereus, B. subtilis, Micrococcus sp., Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Corynebacterium sp. and Lactobacillus acidophilus. The fungal isolates were Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, Rhizopus stolonifer, Penicillium expansium and Mucor mucedo. M. paradisiaca leaf has the least load of bacterial isolates with an average count of 5.00 x 10⁴ cfu/g; followed by Thaumatococcus grandis, 8.00 x 10⁴ cfu/g and Tectona daniellii, 1.44 x 10⁵ cfu/g. The pH of all the food samples wrapped in the different leaves decreased from the original values. The moisture contents ranged from 69.57 to 79.00%. Crude fibre, ash and crude protein increase slightly on the first two days of storage and decrease on the third and fourth days.

Keywords: Thaumatococcus daniellii, Musa paradisiacal, Tectona grandis, microbiological qualities