Seasonal Variation of Air Borne Fungi in a Confectionery

Abstract

The research was carried out to clarify the seasonal variation of air borne fungal flora in a small scale of confectionery. In June and December, 1981, air borne fungi were collected by means of a pin hole sampler for ten continous days. The fungal content was 0.69±0.50 cfu/l of air in the summer, and was 0.12±0.06 in the winter. Although the main air borne fungi were Penicillium, Cladosporium, Aspergillus and Rhizopus, their appearance varied seasonally. Penicillium was the most predominant and occupied 70% of the air borne flora in the summer. In winter, Penicillium decreased remarkably, and Cladosporium and Aspergillus increased to a considerable extent. The flora in this time consisted of 42% Penicillium, 24% Cladosporium and 14% Aspergillus. Furthermore, it was shown that the fall-out flora was somewhat different from the floating flora in the air. While, Penicillium and Cladosporium sedimented onto a plate surface predominantly in the summer, the fall-out of Aspergillus increased significantly in the winter.