Abstract:
The Desiccated Coconut (DC) industry is one of the major export oriented food processing industries in Sri
Lanka, which has become a key foreign exchange earner. Market value of DC is greatly dependent on its
quality. The maximum Aerobic Plate Count (APC), as recommended by Coconut Development Authority
10,000 cfu/g which is the only criteria that should be guaranteed by the manufacturers at present
However, there is a growing demand for DC with APC less than 5,000 cfu/g. This indicates that the DC
market can be expanded by fulfilling above requirement by further reducing the APC through eliminating
possibilities of contaminations. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate possible ways of
microbiological contaminations and to find out the means of reducing the contaminations. Samples of DC
and coconut meat were collected from 12 points of DC manufacturing process. All samples were tested for
microbiological tests namely Aerobic Plate Count (APC), Yeast and Mold Count (YMC). Data were analyzed
by ANOVA General Linear Model using SAS statistical package. According to the results, wet section and
addition of Chiplet fine (CF) to the cooling table had considerable contamination potentials. Addition of CF
had a significant effect on YMC of the final product To avoid contaminations, it was proposed to change
the water regularly in washing baths, to follow sterilization methods for CF product before adding directly
in to the cooling table, and to inspect the wet section more regularly.
