Fungi That Produce Toxins in Salted Fish

Salted fish are fish that are processed through a process of salting and drying. The contamination of fungi in salted fish can be caused by prolonged storage. Storage of salted fish that is too long can cause the growth of various fungi. One of the fungi that often grows in salted fish is the fungus of Aspergillus sp. Some species of the Aspergillus sp fungi can produce aflatoxin, one of which is Aspergillus flavus. This study aims to determine the contamination of toxin-producing fungi in salted fish in the traditional Banjarbaru market in Indonesia. The type of research used is descriptive survey. Samples were taken by purposive sampling taken from 5 salted fish sellers each taken 3 different types of salted fish so that the number of samples was 15. The results were obtained from 15 samples examined, 6 positive samples contaminated with Aspergillus flavus fungi, 8 positive samples contaminated with Aspergillus fungi niger, 5 positive samples contaminated with Monilia sitophila fungi, 6 positive samples contaminated with Rhizopus sp fungi, 6 positive samples contaminated with Penicillium sp fungi, and 1 positive sample contaminated with Mucor sp fungi. Based on the results of the study, samples of salted fish contaminated with Aspergillus sp fungi were 73% (11 samples) and no samples were contaminated with Fusarium sp. Keywords; fungi; toxins; salted fish INTRODUCTION Bacteria and fungi can contaminate food such as vegetables, fruits, milk and meat. Foods that have contained microorganisms are decomposed so that they can reduce nutritional value, delicacy, even foods that have been decomposed can cause a person to be sick until he dies because of the toxins produced. Fungi have potential hazards to human or animal health. This organism can produce various types of toxins called mycotoxins. Fungi can also cause allergies and infections. In addition, according to Tournas et al, 2001, fungi can cause various decomposition of food ingredients. Foods that are decomposed by fungi can become foul-smelling and stained with certain colors. The source of protein that is also consumed by the community is salted fish. Salted fish are fish that are processed through a process of salting and drying. Salted fish have low water content due to absorption by salt and evaporation by heat. Fungi that often grow in conditions of low water content have the potential to produce poisons. One of them is salted fish most often overgrown with Aspergillus sp. Aspergillus sp. there are many in the environment, in various types of substrate and soil. The Tropical Health and Medicine Research Vol.1, No.1, March 2019, pp. 19-25 ISSN (Online) : Journal homepage:medlabtecnojournal.com