Safety Evaluation of Vinegar from Phoenix Dactylifera and Malus Sylvestris: Toxicity and Acetic Acid Content

Abstract

Vinegar is generally considered safe, but variations in production methods, acetic acid content and potential contaminants may impact its safety profile. This study was carried out to evaluate the safety of vinegar produced from Phoenix dactylifera (PD) and Malus sylvestris (MS) by assessing its toxicity and acetic acid content, providing essential information for consumers, manufacturers and regulatory agencies. Yeast and acetic acid bacterium were isolated from spoilt fruits and characterized using appropriate microbiological techniques. Vinegar production was carried out using submerged fermentation of must extracted from Phoenix dactylifera (PD) and Malus sylvestris (MS) fruits. Instrumentation and in vivo techniques were employed for the determination of acetic acid content and toxicity of the fruit vinegar. The data generated from this study were analyzed at 95% confidence level using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and post-hoc analysis using Turkey’s test. Vinegar samples containing 4.10% and 5.2% acetic acid respectively were produced from MS and PD using Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain SR 128 (CS 128) and Acetobacter aceti strain WI (AAWI). There was no significant difference (P> 0.05) between body weights, organ weights and organ functions of the experimented rats and the control (normal) rats. Therefore, the prepared vinegar samples from MS and PD had stipulated levels of acetic acid, and they were safe for human consumption, and the sample prepared from PD was slightly better.