Toxicological, nutritional and microbiological evaluation of tempe fermentation with Rhizopus oligosporus of bitter and sweet apricot seeds.

Bitter and sweet apricot seeds are by-products of the apricot processing industry. Bitter seeds, in particular, contain toxic levels of the cyanogenic substance amygdalin. Tempe was made from both kinds of seeds. The bitter seeds contain antimicrobial substances which must be removed by leaching and boiling prior to tempe fermentation. Apricot seed tempe had an agreeable taste. It contained approx. 21% (w/w) crude protein, 52% (w/w) crude fat, 1.5% (w/w) crude fibre and 25.5% (w/w) carbohydrates based on dry matter. The extent of biological acidification during soaking prior to fungal inoculation was inadequate to prevent growth of Bacillus cereus, and requires further optimisation. Bitter seeds were detoxified by the tempe process (approx. 70% of total cyanide was removed). However, additional improvement of the detoxification process is required to obtain a completely safe product.