Isolation And Identification Of Bacteria And From Stored Maize (zea Mfungiays)

The fermented maize starch known as Ogi in Yoruba and Akamu in Igbo is a popular staple food. It is a traditional weaning food used mainly in West Africa. Bacteria were isolated from steep water and aqueous Pap. Steep water and aqueous Pap were labeled as Pap 1 and Pap 2 or sample 1 and sample 2, respectively. The first sample (Pap 1) was kept without the replacement of the supernatant water throughout the experimental period, while the second sample (Ogi 2), had the supernatant water replaced daily throughout the experimental period. The steep water and the aqueous Pap were screened for bacteria and fungi. 

The bacteria organisms were isolated from nutrient agar and macConkey agar.. The samples were analyzed microbiologically. The analyses showed that Pap 1 had higher total viable counts for both bacteria and fungi than Pap 2. In Pap 1, the bacterial counts ranged from 1.13 x 10^9 to 6.4 x 10^8cfu/g while in Pap 2, the counts ranged from 7.3 x 10^8 to 4.2 x 10^8cfu/g. The fungal counts in Pap 1 ranged from 5.3 x 10^8 to 2.1 x 10^8cfu/g, and 1.5 x 10^8 to TNTC in Pap 2. 

The bacteria identified were Lactobacillus sp, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas sp, Staphylococcus sp, while the fungi were Aspergillus sp, Rhizopus sp, and Saccharomyces sp. The critical points of contamination of Pap during production could be through water that were used for soaking, during grinding and the muslin clothes used for sieving. Appropriate safety measures and good manufacturing practices could ensure quality Pap that would be free from all these microbial contaminants.