ABSTRACT

The microbial changes which took place during the steeping and storage of pap (ogi) was studied. The bacterial load for the steeped water ranged from 4.7x104 to 3.2 x 107 cfu/ml while the fungal load ranged from 1.5 x103 to 5.7 x 106 cfu/ml. In the stored pap, pap 1 had higher count of fungal which range from 7.2x104 to 6.0x107 cfu/g while 6.0x107 to 1.6x1011. The fungal count for pap I and II ranged from 8.2 x 105 to 2.5x1012 and 8.2x106 to 3.6x1010 respectively. The bacteria isolated from steeping were Lactabacillus species and yeast (Saccharomyces spp). The fungi were Aspergillus , Pichia, Geotricum, Monilia, Trichotecum, Sperendonema, Botrytis, Stachybotrys, Alternaria specie. The pap stored without changing water developed an off  flavour after 48 hours and is not fit for consumption. On the other hand, the pap stored while changing water is fit and better for consumption