ABSTRACT

Tomato is a major vegetable crop that has achieved tremendous popularity over the last century. It is an important vegetable crop across the world. However it is susceptible to spoilage by fungi and bacteria. This study was carried out to isolate and identify fungi associated with spoilage of tomatoes sold in tomato depot Umuahia, Abia State. This reveals the major fungal isolates belong to Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus and Penicillium species. The total fungal count of the tomato fruit under deterioration process for seven days indicates that there was an increase from day one to the seventh day of the deterioration (Table 4.1). The total fungal count increased from 2.1 x 104cfu/g to 3.1 x 104cfu/g from the first day to the seventh day respectively. The percentage occurrence of fungal isolates accessed on the selected tomato fruits revealed that Aspergillus niger was the most frequently occurring fungal isolate with a percentage occurrence of (44.4%), followed by Aspergillus flavus with percentage occurrence of (33.3%) whereas Penicillium species had the least percentage occurrence of (22.2%). With the number of isolated fungi from the selected fruits, it can be concluded that different fungal species occurred within the tomato fruit samples under study. The Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) should be employed at every point in the postharvest chain to minimize contamination.