Evaluation, Identification and Characterization of Micro - Organisms in Raw and Processed Orange Fruits using different Techniques

Abstract

In this study, different samples of Orange fruits/juice were analyzed using Pour Plate Method (PPM) and Spread Plate Method (SPM). Samples analyzed includes; Raw orange Fruit (RF) serving as control, Manually Extracted orange Juice (MEJ), Machine Extracted orange Juice (MAEJ), Pasteurized Machine Extracted orange Juice at 85⁰C (PMAEJ, 85⁰C) and Refrigerated Machine Extracted orange Juice at 4⁰C (RMAEJ, 4⁰C). The objective of the experiment was to evaluate the micro-organisms count in the raw and processed orange fruits using the PPM and the SPM .  The micro-organisms count considered include; Total Heterotrophic Plate Count (THPC), Total Coliform Count (TCC), Total Faecal Coliform Count (TFCC), and Fungal Count (FC). A total of 15 micro-organisms were identified which were Aeromonas hydrophila, Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus sp., Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermis, Listeria sp., Lactobacillus fermenti, Providencia sp., Klebsiella pneumonia, Enterobacter aerogenes, Sacchoronyees cereoisioe, Penicillium sp. Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus stolonifer, and  Nucor racemosus.