Mycological studies on frozen meat with special reference to toxigenic strains

A total of hundred random samples of frozen meat were collectedfrom different localities of different sanitation levels at Damiettagovemorate and transferred to the laboratory under hygienic conditionswhile being frozen with a minimum of delay to be examinedorganoleptically and mycologically for the presence of mouldcontamination on the surfaces and in the inner tissues, beside the detectionof aflatoxin residues as well as determination the effect of heat treatmenton the existed aflatoxins in the examined samples.The organoleptic examination of meat samples revealed that the mostof samples have a normal color, acceptable taste and odor and firmconsistency.The mean value of pH for such examined samples was 6.l5::::2.25.Most of the examined samples (920/0) were in the range 5.73 to 6.33.Concerning the moulds count on the examined meat surfaces, it isfound that the mean mould count /cm’ was 3.88 x 103 ±1.01 X 102 while inthe tissues of the same samples was 4.4 x 10± 1.5 x 10 Igm.Comparatively higher mould counts were detected on meat surfacesthan that in tissue samples.Alternaria, Cladosporium, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Mucor,Geotricum, Fusarium, Rhizopus and Torula could be isolated from bothexamined surfaces and tissues of meat samples with a varying percentagesraged from 1 % to 50% beside Trichoderma could be isolated from theexamined surfaces only.