BASIC MYCOLOGY AND THEIR

ROLE IN FOOD SPOILAGE

PRESENTED BY-
SAGAR BADNAKHE
17FET113
MYCOLOGY:
 Mycology is a branch of biology concerned
with the study of fungi, including their
genetic, biochemical properties and their use
to humans as a source for medicine, food and
entheogens as well as dangers such as
toxicity or infection.
MYCOLOGY:
 The term mycology consist of two Greek
words ‘mukes’ meaning fungus and ‘logia’
meaning study.
 Fungi are found in almost all types of

environments and can be highly beneficial.

 They help to decompose organisms, they are

great source for antibiotics and they serve as

food.
MYCOLOGY:
 FUNGI:- The fungi are a group of eukaryotic
microorganisms. Fungi can occur as yeasts,
moulds.
 Some fungi are capable of causing superficial,

systematic or allergic diseases.

 Fungi are heterotrophic and essentially

aerobic, with limited anaerobic capabilities.

 They derive energy from organic matter and

not from photosynthesis.

MYCOLOGY:
 Fungi is a different kingdom from plants,
animals, and bacteria. The main character
which places fungi in different kingdom is
due to ‘chitin’ in their cell wall.
 Chitin is a long chain polymer of N-

acetylglucosamine, derivative of glucose.

MYCOLOGY:
 MOULDS:- Moulds is a fungus that grows in
the form of multicellular filaments called
hyphae (long, branching filamentous
structure).
 moulds are a large and taxonomically diverse

number of fungal in which the growth of

hyphae results in discoloration and a fuzzy
appearance, especially on food.
MYCOLOGY:
 They all require moisture for growth and
some live in aquatic environments.
 Typically moulds secrete hydrolytic enzymes,

mainly from hyphal tips. These enzymes

degrade complex biopolymers such as starch,
cellulose into simpler substances. In this way
they play a major role in decomposition of
organic material, which enables recycling of
nutrients through ecosystem.
MYCOLOGY:
YEAST:- Yeasts are eukaryotic single-celled
microorganisms classified as members of the
fungus kingdom.
 They are estimated to constitute 1% of all

described fungal species. Yeasts are

unicellular , with some species having the
ability to develop multicellular characteristics
by forming strings between cells known as
pseudohyphae.
MYCOLOGY:
 Yeasts sizes vary greatly, depending on
species and environment, typically measuring
3-4 micrometers in diameters.
 Most yeasts reproduce asexually by mitosis

and many do so by asymmetric division

process known as budding.
How they are different from bacteria:
 Bacteria are prokaryotes which are most
primitive type of microorganisms , which are
single-celled and lack many organelles.
 While eukaryotes like fungi evolved from

prokaryotes only but they are multicellular

and contains all organelles with specific
functions.
 Bacteria don’t need any host to live and they

can be autotrophs as well as heterotrophs.

They do not nuclear membrane.
How they are different from bacteria:
 Bacteria have three basic shapes where cell
wall influences the shape of the bacterium.
Round, spiral and rod shaped. Fungi appears
to have various shapes and forms.
 Bacteria multiply by way of binary fission i.e.

asexually while fungi are capable of

reproducing by both sexual and asexual
means.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF MOULDS:
ASPERGILLUS:-
Kingdom - Fungi
Division - Ascomycota
Class - Eurotiomycetes
Family - trichocomaceae

Aspergillum is a asexual spore forming

structure . They are highly aerobic and are
found in almost all oxygen rich environments.
 Aspergillus species are common
contaminants of starchy foods and grow on
carbon rich substrates like glucose and
amylose.
 Some of its species are important in

commercial microbial fermentations. For e.g.

Japanese sake manufacturation requires
aspergillus oryzae.
FUSARIUM:-
Kingdom – Fungi
Division - Ascomycota
Class - Sordariomycetes
Family - Nectriaceae

Fusarium is a large genus of filamentous

fungi, widely distributed in soil. Most of the
species are harmless. Some species produce
mycotoxins in cereal crops that affect human
health if entered in food chain.
PENICILLIUM:-
Kingdom – Fungi
Division - Ascomycota
Class - Eurotiomycetes
Family - Trichocomaceae

Penicillium are of major importance in the

natural environment as well as food and drug
production. Some of its species affect fruits
like P.expansum and P.digitatum.
RHIZOPUS:-
Kingdom – Fungi
Division - Zygomycota
Class - Mucoromycotina
Family - Mucoraceae

Rhizopus species grow as filamentous

branching hyphae. They reproduce by forming
asexual and sexual spores. Rhizopus stolonifer
causes fruit rots in tomato, strawberry and used in
commercial production of fumaric acid.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF YEASTS:
SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE:-
Kingdom – Fungi
Division - Ascomycota
Class - Saccharomycetes
Family - saccharomycetaceae

S. cerevisiae is instrumental to winemaking,

baking, and brewing. It is reason behind the
most common type of fermentation.
 S. cerevisiae cells are round of about 5-10
micrometer in diameter. It reproduces by a
division process of budding.
 It is used in brewing beer known as top

fermenting because during fermentation

process its hydrophobic surface causes the flocs
to adhere to CO2 and rise to top of
fermentation vessel.
 It is also used in baking, the CO2 generated by

the fermentation is used as leavening agent in

bread.
CRYPTOCOCCUS :-
Kingdom – Fungi
Phylum - Basidiomycota
Class - Tremellomycetes
Family - Tremellaceae

They are common leaf surfaces. C. neoformans a

significant pathogen of immuno compromised
people, causing the disease termed cryptococcosis.
ZYGOSACCHAROMYCES:-
Kingdom – Fungi
Division - Ascomycota
Class - Sacchraromycetes
Family - Saccharomycetaceae

Zygosaccharomyces has caused significant

economic losses to food industry. Z. bailii is one
of the spoiler in wines due to high resistance at
low pH. Z. rouxii is one of the spoilage
microorganism in confectionary.
ROLE OF YEASTS IN FOOD SPOILAGE:
 The large and diverse group of microscopic
foodborne yeasts includes several hundreds
species.
 The ability of yeasts to attack my foods is due

to their relatively versatile environmental

requirement.
 Yeasts tend to grow within the food and drink

matrices in planktonic form and they tend to

ferment sugar, growing well under anaerobic
conditions.
 Several species of yeasts may be hazardous
to human health due to their ability to
produce toxic metabolities known as
mycotoxins.
 Certain foodborne yeasts can also cause

allergic reaction and may cause infections.

 In dried fruits, honey, jams
zygosaccharomyces grow slowly producing
off odour, flavour and CO2 that causes food
to spoil and containers to swell and burst .
 Debaryomyces hansenii can even grow at salt

concentrations as high as 24%, accounting its

isolation from salt brines used for cured
meat, cheeses and olives.
 Dekkera are principally involved in spoilage

of fermented foods.
SOME IMPORTANT SPOILAGE YEASTS:
ROLE OF MOULDS IN FOOD SPOILAGE:
 Moulds are filamentous fungi which grow at a pH
range of 3-8 and can grow at very low water activity
levels (0.7-0.8) which makes them tolerant to many
adverse conditions.
 Some moulds species are also able to grow in
refrigerators. They have a diverse secondary
metabolites producing no. of toxic and carcinogenic
mycotoxins.
 They reproduce through spore formation and these
spores can easily dispersed through air and cause
spoilage on food substrate if conditions are
favourable.
 Penicillium and related genera causes visible
rots on citrus, pears, and apple fruits and
causes enormous losses in these crops.
 Byssochlamys causes spoilage of pasteurized

juices due to high heat resistance of its

spores.
 Aspergillus and related moulds grow faster,

are resistant to high temperature and can

withstand low water activity which makes
them to spoil variety of foods.
SOME IMPORTANT SPOILAGE MOULDS:
PREVENTION OF FOOD SPOILAGE:
 It is a process of treating food to stop or slow
down spoilage, loss of quality, edibility and
nutritional value. A no. of methods of
prevention can be used that can prevent delay
or reduce food spoilage.
 This expands the shelf life of food and can

lengthen the time long enough for the food

to be consumed by the customers.
METHODS OF FOOD PRESERVATION:
REFRIGERATION:-
This slow down the growth and
reproduction of microorganisms
which causes food to rot.

 VACUUM PACKING:-
This stores food in vacuum
environment which strips bacteria of
oxygen needed for survival, thereby
slowing the spoilage and loss of
flavour.
 PRESERVATIVE FOOD ADDITIVES:-

These additives inhibit the growth of

microbes, keep them fresh and enhance
their texture.
e.g. E200 – sorbic acid – used in cheese, wine.
E210 – benzoic acid – used in acidic foods.
E220 – sulfur dioxide – used in fruits.
 CANNING:-

Canning involves cooking food, sealing it in

sterile cans or jars and boiling the containers
to kill or inactivate the microorganisms. High
acid fruits like strawberries require no
preservatives to can while low acid such as
vegetables and meats require pressure
canning .
THANK YOU