Abstract
Crude palm oil (CPO) is an essential ingredient of Cameroonian recipes. However, its quality is subject to doubt, considering the very often inadequate conditions of extraction, conditioning, storage, and selling in the fast growing small holder sector or in the market. This work aimed to evaluate the influence of seasons and containers on the microbiologic, physicochemical quality and the carotenoids content of CPO sold in Douala. A total of 194 samples of CPO were randomly collected in seven markets among which: 95 during the rainy season and 99 during dry season; 93 from CPO contained in opened containers and 101 in closed containers. In these samples, aerobic count colony (ACC) load, total yeasts and moulds load, peroxide value (PV), free fatty acids content (FFA), impurity level and carotenoids content were assayed.The samples tested had ACC load of 4.48±1.86x105 CFU/ml, total yeasts and moulds load of 0.30±0.14x105 CFU/ml, PV of 1.81±0.74 meqO2/kg, FFA of 4.30±1.82%, impurity level of 0.34±0.16% and carotenoids content of 756.41±110.67 mg/l. Also, none of these parameters had varied according to the market. Moreover, among these parameters, PV and carotenoids content were not varied whatever CPO is sold during rainy or dry season, in open or closed containers while others parameters analysed were significantly (P<0.05) higher during dry season or when the CPO was contained in open containers. Consequently, traders should make efforts to avoid CPO contamination during the selling. They could package it first and store it in an adequate space particularly during dry season.
Highlights
"Oils" is a collective term for more or less viscous, generally organic chemical liquids
Aerobic count colony (ACC) load, total yeasts and moulds load, peroxide value (PV), free fatty acids content (FFA), impurity level and carotenoids content were assayed.The samples tested had aerobic count colony (ACC) load of 4.48±1.86x105 colony forming units per millilitre (CFU/ml), total yeasts and moulds load of 0.30±0.14x105 CFU/ml, PV of 1.81±0.74 meqO2/kg, FFA of 4.30±1.82%, impurity level of 0.34±0.16% and carotenoids content of 756.41±110.67 mg/l. None of these parameters had varied according to the market. Among these parameters, PV and carotenoids content were not varied whatever Crude palm oil (CPO) is sold during rainy or dry season, in open or closed containers while others parameters analysed were significantly (P
The results showed that none of the parameters analysed varied significantly according to the market
Summary
"Oils" is a collective term for more or less viscous, generally organic chemical liquids. Acidification is generally assessed through determination of oil acidity or FFA content which is one of the most important criterion for determining the quality of cooking oils (Chabiri et al, 2009) Another degradation reaction of CPO regarding food safety is lipid peroxidation. This process involves unsaturated molecules such as fatty acids and carotenoids which undergo a chain reaction mechanism involving free radicals as intermediates and generating lipid peroxides as end products. The present work aimed to assess the microbiological quality, the physicochemical characteristics and the carotenoids content of CPO sold in some markets in Douala and to study the influence of season and of the kind of containers used on these parameters
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