Microbiological Quality Assessment of Some Commercially Available Breads.

Bread is a staple, energy-rich food for people of all ages, so quality is important to consumers. In our region, most of the commercially available bread, whether packaged or unpackaged, is produced by local bakeries, so monitoring microbial levels and the types of microbes present on bread can help to draw attention to protect the final product. It can also help to ensure the food safety, quality, and shelf life of bread. The freshly baked product is microbiologically sterile. Post-process contamination affects the microbial load of bread. In this study, the microbial load of 30 different commercial bread crumbs and crusts was determined. The different types of bread with different compositions were analyzed for total viable bacteria, , , aerobic and anaerobic spore-forming bacteria, and culturable microscopic fungi. The K-means clustering algorithm was used to cluster the different types of bread based on the number of aerobic mesophilic bacteria. Significant differences ( < 0.05) were found in the total viable bacterial count for bread crusts and crumbs. The bacterial count of bread varied between 10.00 ± 0.00-395.00 ± 52.4 CFU/g for bread crusts and 10.00 ± 0.0-310.67 ± 94 CFU/g for bread crumbs. The results of 16S rDNA sequence analysis showed that the most frequently occurring bacterial species belonged to the genus , but species of the genus were also present. spp. predominated on multigrain bread, spp. on rustic potato bread, and on sliced brown potato bread. The results contribute to a better understanding of the microbial dynamics in locally produced breads from the Eastern Carpathians of Transylvania, with the aim of improving food safety, quality control, and consumer protection.