Microbial population associated with the natural fermentation of prawn (Litopenaus sp.) for condiment production

Abstract

Fresh water prawn (Litopenaus sp.) was naturally fermented for 36 hours in the laboratory to produce the condiment (Ogiri ayiya) and the metabolic activities of the microbial flora involved were investigated. sp. and sp. were implicated as the major fermenters with microbial count of 2.0x10 cful/g and 2.0x10 cfu/g respectively and occurred throughout the fermentation whereas sp. and sp. were late fermenters with count of 8.0 x 10 cfu/g and 6.3 x 10 cfu/g respectively. and species were also encountered but were eliminated at the end of the fermentation due to modified environmental conditions. The moisture content, pH, temperature and titratable acidity of the fermenting prawn varied overtime and were influenced by the metabolic activities of the microorganisms. The percentage nutrient values of the fermented prawn increased as the fermentation progressed except in the case of fat where there was a decrease. A shelf life of eight days was determined for the prawn condiment produced.

Keywords: Microorganisms, fermentation,Condiment