eng Science and Education Publishing Journal of Food Security 2372-0107 2022-03-11 10 1 17 24 10.12691/jfs-10-1-3 JFS20221013 article Ang¨¦lique Esp¨¦rance Lembella Boumba esplembs@gmail.com 1 2 Augustin Aim¨¦ Lebonguy 2 Chancelvy Pahivelle Limingui Polo 2 Mickaelle Bokamba Moukala 2 3 Joseph Goma-Tchimbakala 3 3 Ecole Nationale Sup¨¦rieure d¡¯Agronomie et de Foresterie, BP 69 Brazzaville Congo This study was carried out to determine the hygienic quality of six samples of fermented peppers of different ages sold in the markets of Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo and used for human consumption. To do so, decimal dilution method was performed and only the obtained isolates on Mac conkey agar were identified by sequencing of 16s rRNA gene. Then the phylogenic relationship of the sequences obtained was verified on Phylogeny.fr. The principal component analysis and the similarity dendrogram made it possible to see the resemblance between the different samples. The results showed that the FMAT load varied from 2.33.105 -1.2.107cfu/g with a very significant difference (P <0.001). Only the EB4 sample is of unsatisfactory quality for this parameter. The loads of total and faecal coliforms in EB4 were above the threshold values of Directive 2005/2073/EC relating to the microbiological criteria applicable to foodstuffs. Staphylococcus aureus was absent in all samples except EB4 where the microbial density is 2.6.102 cfu/g. The NCBI blast of the sequences obtained made it possible to identify the following bacterial species with a percentage of similarity equal to or greater than 99%: Enterobacter kobei, E. mori, Klebsiella Pneumoniae and Salmonella Enterica. This work showed that the quality of the peppers fermented depends on fermentation time. Older fermented peppers are of good quality compared to younger ones. http://pubs.sciepub.com/jfs/10/1/3/jfs-10-1-3.pdf hygienic quality pepper; fermented food microbial food safety criteria