INCIDENCE OF MOULDS AND PRESENCE OF AFLATOXIN ON TOASTED CASHEW NUTS (ANACARDIUM OCCIDENTALE L) IN VENEZUELA

The main objective of this work was to determine the incidence of fungal growth in commercial cashew nuts. The highest mould count in cashew nuts was 658.05 UFC/g (sales point 1). The incidence of moulds in cashew nuts in the first testing period was between 91,67 and 31.25% and in the second period it was between 89.58 and 62.5% for sales points 1, 2, 3 and 4. The incidence of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus in cashew nuts was 5.74% and 0.49%, respectively, and the differences were not significant. The concentrations of aflatoxins recovered from cashew nuts were between 20.67 and 11.33 ppb, for all sales points.