Counting and identification of molds and yeasts in dry salted shrimp commercialized in Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil

Abstract

Dry salted shrimp is a popular food in Acre cuisine, especially as a main ingredient in “tacacá” and “rabada no tucupi”. However, different intrinsic and extrinsic factors can result in accelerated deterioration and microbial proliferation, causing food poisoning to the consumer. The objective was to perform the counting and identification of molds and yeasts in dry salted shrimp in establishments that sell typical foods in the municipality of Rio Branco, state of Acre. Shrimp samples from six establishments were collected in sterile bottles, identified, refrigerated and transported to the Laboratory of Infectious Diseases of Animals at the Federal University of Acre, for the manual counting of colony-forming units and identification of fungal genera. As a result, the number of molds and yeasts in the dried salted shrimp samples varied between 1.0x10² and 1.02x10⁶ CFU/g. Nine fungal genera were identified: Aspergillus, Penicillium, Cladosporium, Malassezia, Fusarium, Exophiala, Candida, Curvularia and Trichosporon. The most frequent were Aspergillus, Penicillium and Cladosporium, these being potential producers of mycotoxins. The presence of molds and yeasts in the samples of dried salted shrimp shows the need for greater hygienic-sanitary rigidity of this fish at different stages of manipulation and processing as preventative measures for public health.

Keywords:
Aspergillus; Cladosporium; Penicillium; fungus; Litopenaeus vannamei