AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE HEALTH DANGERS OF SACCHARIN CONTENTS IN BREAD

ABSTRACT Vegetables continue to remain a source of nutrients that are very essential to human health and these nutrients help to reduce the risk of some life threatening diseases like cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The research was aimed to isolate and identify fungi associated with Vegetables vended within Bodinga, Dange Shuni and Sokoto South LGA Sokoto State. Apple, Pineapple and Orange were collected from three suppliers in the Sokoto fish and vegetables market. The streak plate method was used for the isolation. Potatoes Dextrose Agar (PDA) was used for fungal isolation. Incubation was done at 37oC for 48-72 hrs. All the samples yielded growth and revealed growth for fungi. The fungi isolated from the local beverages was Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Mucor spp, Rhizopus oryzae, and Rhizopus stolonifer. The presence of these fungi at high levels is a matter of serious concern as some of these organisms are causative agents of many disease conditions. It is therefore recommended that appropriate control measures should be employed during the harvesting, transportation, handling and processing of tomato, onion, cabbage or any other perishable food items because of their susceptibility to spoilage by microorganisms particularly fungi.