MICROBIOLOGICAL CHANGES IN MAWE DURING NATURAL FERMENTATION

Lactic acid bacteria increased from 3.2 x 10(6) and 1.6 x 10(7) c.f.u. /g (wet wt) to 2 x 10(9) and 1.6 x 10' c.f.u./g after 12 to 24 h of fe rmentation of home-produced mawe (a dough produced from dehulled maize ) and commercial mawe, respectively. In commercial mawe, the yeast cou nt increased from 1.3 x 10(5) to 2.5 x 10(5) c.f.u./g after 48 h of fe rmentation before decreasing, whereas in the home-produced mawe it inc reased from 2.5 x 10(4) to 3.2 X 10(7) C.f.U./g after 72 h of fermenta tion; the dominant yeasts were mainly Candida krusei, although C. kefy r, C. glabrata and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were also present. Enterob acteriaceae counts increased slightly during the initial stage of the fermentation, but decreased below the detection level after 24 to 48 h Enterobacter cloacae was mostly found in commercial mawe and Escheric hia coli mostly in home-produced mawe.