This study aimed at selecting and characterising the thermal resistance of thermally resistant moulds isolated from commercial pasteurised passion fruit and pineapple nectars. It also aimed to verify patulin production by such moulds following their inoculation into the products. The most thermally resistant moulds isolated from passion fruit and pineapple nectars were Byssochlamys fulva and Byssochlamys nivea, repectively. B. nivea showed the highest thermal resistance in pineapple nectar based on the D98 °C and Z-values of 27.0 min and 5.4 °C, respectively, as compared to the same parameters found for B. fulva in passion fruit nectar of 13.6 min and 5.5 °C. The pasteurisation commonly applied by industry was shown to be inadequate to inactivate the isolated moulds. No patulin production was found when the isolated moulds were inoculated directly into the nectars.
Byssochlamys fulva; Byssochlamys nivea; Heat resistance; Nectar; Patulin
