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Abstract
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most widely cultivated and extensively consumed horticultural crops worldwide. Spoilage of tomato fruit by contaminating microorganism is a major agricultural and economic problem. The search for techniques to prevent or control spoilage is a welcome development. In this study, was aimed at determination of fungal analysis and effects of sodium metabisulphite and pasteurization as a preservative of tomato fruit puree. Fresh, uninfected tomatoes were purchased at Aduwawa tomatoes market, Ikpoba-Okha local government Area, Edo state, and prepared into puree. The samples were treated with the sodium metabisulphite at the concentrations of 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5g/l and pasteurized at 65°C for 15 mins. The treated samples were stored for a period of 15 days and analyzed every 5 days interval. The analysis carried out were fungal count and identification, pH and titratable acidity. The result showed that total fungal count ranged from 5.00× sfu/ml to 1.00× sfu/ml. The identified fungal isolates were Aspergillus niger, Fusarium sp, Rhizopus stolonifer, Geotrichum sp, Trichoderma sp, Candida sp and Saccharomyces Cerevisae. The pH ranged from 4.10±0.07 to 5.80±0.57 while the titratable acidity ranged from 0.083% to 1.345%. From this study, the concentrations of 0.4g/L and 0.5g/L proved to be effective in preserving the tomato puree and inhibiting fungal growth.
