IDENTIFICATION OF MOLDS IN MATE (ILEX PARAGUARIENSIS ST. HIL.)

ABSTRACT

Mate (Ilex paraguariensis St. Hil.), a native species of South America, is used extensively in the production of the most traditional and consumed drink in Rio Grande do Sul, that is the mate tea. For the accomplishment of this research samples were acquired of mate marketed in different establishments of the city of Pelotas, RS. These samples were transported to the Laboratory of Mycology where the counting analyses and identification of molds in agreement with the methodology standards for foods were carried out. Thirty-four samples were analyzed as being of the genera Aspergillus sp. and Penicillium sp., the main wold contaminants found. The pure leaf samples presented higher contamination than the ground leaves, as did the tea in metallic packages compared to that in paper packages.

KEY WORDS
Ilex paraguariensis ; Aspergillus ; Penicillium ; fungi; packages