Contribution to the Study of Fungal Strains Contaminating Peanut Pastes in Bangui (Central African Republic)

Introduction: Peanut pastes are food products resulting from artisanal or industrial processing, used in cooking in Africa in general and in Central African Republic in particular. These peanut pastes are often contaminated by molds and filamentous fungi involved in the degradation of hygienic and organoleptic or even toxicological quality. This study aims to determine the epidemiological profile of molds contaminating peanut pastes sold on the Central African market. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study carried out from June to September 2023. Samples of peanut pastes sold on Central African market were taken and analyzed at the National Laboratory of Clinical Biology and Public Health using the conventional microbiology method according to ISO 7954 standards. The data obtained were collected in the ODK 2023.3.1 application and analyzed with the Epi Info 7 software. A multivariate analysis by logistic regression, Ficher’s exact test, and chi2 at the 5% threshold (p < 0.05) were used. Results: A total of 320 samples were taken in the main markets of the city of Bangui. The overall prevalence of contamination of peanut paste samples was 60%. The proportion of contamination per market was 95% at the Petevo market, 65% at the Sango market, 60% at the Miskine and Combattant markets, 55% in the Boy-rabe and Centrale markets, 50% at the Mamadou Mbaïki market and 40% at the market Ouango. The count of the total fungal flora and 10.85 × 106 CFU/g at the Boy Rabe market; 16.45 × 106 CFU/g at Combattant market; 10.3 × 106 CFU/g at the Central market, 12.8 × 106 CFU/g at the Miskine market; 10.2 × 106 CFU/g at the Mamadou Mbaïki market; 10.8 × 106 CFU/g at the Ouango market; 18.05 × 106 CFU/g at the Petevo market and 13.65 × 106 CFU/g at the Sango market. The prevalence of contamination by different fungal species was 1.88% of the species Penicillium sp.; 11.25% of Mucor sp.; 10.63% of Aspergillus terrei; 3.13% of Aspergillus niger; 1.25% of Aspergillus medullans; 28.13% of Aspergillus flavus; 2.50% of Aspergillus fumigatus. Peanut pastes stored beyond three days were more contaminated (94.19%). Conclusion: The results of this study made it possible to highlight strains of mold that impact the hygienic and organoleptic quality of peanut pastes sold at the Central African market. Most of the isolated strains were the Aspergillus flavus species which is recognized by its toxigenic effects. This species is much more incriminated in the contamination of foodstuffs with the production of the toxin which causes underlying pulmonary pathologies in humans.