Microbial Population of Processed Tomato Puree

O. F. Olunkunle¹ and E. O. Eesuola²

¹Department of Microbiology Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State Nigeria.

²Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State Nigeria.

ABSTRACT: This study was conducted to investigate the microbial load of fresh and boiled Roma VF and Cherry (round) tomato purees stored at 27oC for 9 months. Bacterial load was high in fresh samples ranging between 1.42 ª 102 Cfu/mL and 2.42 ª 102 Cfu/mL. The boiled sample had no microbial growth from 0 to 42 days of storage. However, the boiled samples stored for 9 months showed insignificant growth of microbes; 2.0 ª 105 Cfu/mL for bacteria and 6.0 ª 105 Sfu/mL for fungi. This result showed that tomato processed into puree and preservation by thermal treatment can reduce the spoilage and wastage of tomato as constraints facing tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) production in Nigeria. This study proposes a sustainable method of thermal preservation that can be carried out by an average literate housewife, on excess tomatoes available in the market during harvest.

KEYWORDS: Microbial population; tomato puree

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