Quantitative, qualitative and toxigenic evaluations of xerophilic mold in traditional Egyptian salted fish, Molouha

Sixty samples of salted fish (Molouha) were randomly collected from Ismailia City, Egypt to evaluate the quantitative, qualitative and toxigenicity of xerophilic mold. The results revealed that 50 (83.3%) out of 60 salted fish analyzed were contaminated by xerophilic mold, while 16.7% were negative. The mean value of total xerophilic mold was 2.45 ± 0.95 log10 cfu/g. Aspergillus spp. was the most predominant xerophilic mold (58.2%) in the fish followed by Penicillium spp. (32.7%). Aspergillus niger and P. verrecosum var. verrecosum were the most predominant mold strains in investigated samples. Thirty-one (18.8%) toxigenic xerophilic mold strains out of 165 isolated xerophilic mold species found to be Sterigmatocystin and Aflatoxin B2, G1mycotoxin producers. Salted fish processing should be controlled by the authority in concern to solve the poor mycological quality of retail salted fish in Ismailia city. Measures must be developed to control the growth and activity of xerophilic mold in salted fish.