The micro-organisms in nuts and dried fruits

By employing the agar plate method, the 'number and types of micro-organisms on a variety of samples of processed and non-processed nuts and dried fruits was determined. Bacteria, fungi, yeasts nd streptomycetes were found on these products, with counts varying from nil to 17 million per gram. High microbial counts (more than 10,000 per gram) occurred only sporadically. Nuts contained he highest number of micro-organisms, viticultural fruits second highest and tree fruits the lowest. Counts on nonprocessed samples were much higher than those on processed samples. Of the 13 taxa of bacteria, 28 taxa of fungi, two yeasts and streptomycetes that were encountered, Bacillus and Aspergillus niger V. Teighem spp. occurred most often. Aspergillus flavus Link, A . niger, Monilia, Mucor, Penicillium frequentans Westling, P. notatum Westling, Rhi^opus, Spicaria, Trichoderma and art unidentified Penicillum sp. were tested for the production of toxinsby incorporating maize, containing these fungi, into a chicken ration and feeding it to New Hampshire chickens. Rations containing A . flavus, A . niger and Spicaria caused detrimental effects