CHAPTER ONE 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Bread is the most common food in the world which provides energy in form of carbohydrate and essential nutrient to the body. Bread is composed of flour which comes from wheat kernel and made up of starch. Water serves as hydration in the composition of bread, while sugar help to sustain yeast activity and salt to mask off flavours, all these function together and bring out good flavour in bread. Several fungi have been associated with its spoilage. These fungi are ubiquitous it can be found in air, water even on land they are also affected by environments which include dark area, moist condition and room temperature, but refrigerator slow down the growth of mold. These fungi have been reported to produce mycotoxins which have lethal effects on human health.
The scientific names of fungi that grow on bread are; Rhizopus nigricans and Mucour stolonifer (Banwart, 2004). There are minor differences between the two and both are commonly referred to as „Bread mold‟. These are invariably the first one to “arrive” and germinate on a piece of bread. Later, many others may follow such as Aspergillus and Penicillium (Hocky, 2008). Yeast is used in the dough of the bread to release CO2 and makes the bread spongy and fluffy. Bread is one of the oldest prepared foods. Evidence from 30,000 years ago in Europe revealed starch residue on rocks used for pounding plants. It is possible that during this time, starch extract from the roots of plants, such as cattails and ferns, was spread on a flat rock, placed over a fire and cooked into a primitive form of flatbread. Around 10,000 BC, with the dawn of the Neolithic age and the spread of agriculture, grains became the mainstay of making bread. Yeast spores are ubiquitous, including the surface of cereal grains so any dough left to rest will become naturally leavened. There were multiple sources of leavening available for early bread. Airborne yeasts could be harnessed by leaving uncooked dough exposed to air for some time before cooking.
1.2 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM
This research is carried out to possibly combat the possible problems associated with isolation and identification of fungal isolations from bread.
1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this research work is to examine and explore on the issues associated with isolation and identification of fungal isolations from bread.
1.3.1 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of this study to:
1) Isolation fungi organism responsible for the spoilage of bread.
2) Compare fungi load on the sample of the study.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This research is designed to provide solution to the following research questions.
1) Is there any significant relationship between fungal isolations from bread?
2) Do you think there is any fungal associated with bread baking?
3) Do you think fungal in bread can be identified?
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
The justification of this research study is to ensure that well prepared baked bread devoid of fungal growth is being circulated and sold. It is also carried out on the basic of selling well baked breads uncontaminated so as to avoid any don’t of food poisoning associated with the ingestion of bread.