VARIETY OF MICROFLORA PRESENT IN VANILLA (Vanilla planifolia Jacks. ex Andrews) AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH CURING PROCESSES

Abstract

The safety indicators groups, such as Total Aerobic bacterial count (TAB), Total Coliform (TC), and Fungi and Yeast (F&Y), to determine the diversity of enterobacteria present in green (Vv) and cured (Vb) vanilla siliques (Vanilla planifolia) from four curing processes, considering that the microbiological information of the fruits and their relationship with the types of curing is limited. The processes evaluated were: rustic (BR1, BR2), traditional (BT) and semi-technified (BST). The microbiological analyses identified enterobacteria using selective, differential cultivation media, and confirming tests with the VITEK system. With the species identified, the Simpson (D), Shannon-Wiener (H’) and Chao (SChao1) diversity indices were used. The microbe recounts reflected high levels of microbiological contamination; AMB did not present significant differences (p>0.05) in both states of the silique, in contrast with TC whose values decreased notably (?10 UFC/g). The F&Y decreased significantly with curing (10¹ to 10³ UFC/g), except in BR1 fruits. The species isolated with highest frequency in Vv and Vb were E. aerogenes, E. cloacae and Klebsiella pneumoniae, while E. coli and Citrobacter freundii were identified only in Vb. The D, H and SChao1 indices reflected a higher diversity in the BR1 and BR2 processes. The results obtained are focused on the design of preventive actions for the safety of vanilla curing process in vanilla curing.