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ABSTRACT
Over time, Fungi have been seen as a cause of food spoilage, leading to an undesirable appearance to food. Fungi contamination is a problem that is associated with fura de nono which could lead to spoilage of the sample. Fura samples were gotten from markets around Benin metropolis and immediately transported to the laboratory for analysis. Potato Dextrose Agar was the media used and it was prepared according to the manufacturer specification. One (1) ml of the fura sample was suspended into 9 ml of distilled water and serial dilution method of Harrian and Maccance was carried out. The pour plate technique was used for isolation of fungi during this study. The identification of fungal isolate was based on their morphological and cultural characteristics. The featuires examined in the colonies include Nature of growth, colour, surface shape and margin. Samples from Uselu market had the least fungal count of 0.75×10-4cfu/ml while samples from New Benin market had the highest fungal count of 7.65×10-4 cfu/ml. After isolation and purification, the following fungi were identified; Ascomycete sp., Yeast, Candida albican, Tricoderma harzianum, Aspergillus nigerand Penicllium chrysogenumwerepresent in all participants’ samples followed by Yeast. The presence of the fungi isolates suggests that the fura drink can easily be contaminated by microorganisms because of the improper and unhygienic handling and processing from the making through storage to marketing. The environment where fura is sold could also contribute to the contamination as they are usually unhygienic. Since fura itself is a nutritional drink, great attention should therefore be given to their microbiological safety to eliminate health hazard posed to consumers. It should be prepared and sold in hygienic and/ or non open air environment.
