Abstract:Baked cakes are open to fungal contamination. This study aimed to investigate the fungal diversity on baked cakes, to evaluate the feasibility of applying DNA barcoding to the identification of cake-contaminating fungi, and to analyze whether there are potential pathogenic species. Fungal cultures were recovered from four different flavors of cakes, and these fungal isolates were identified and analyzed based on the common fungal DNA barcode of nrDNA ITS sequences. Results: A total of 34 fungal cultures were attained from contaminated cakes. According to the ITS sequence similarity threshold of 97%, 9 different fungal species were identified, including Cladosporium, Neurospora, Penicillium, Aspergillus, Alternaria, and Zygosaccharomyces rouxii, mostly indoor air fungi. By searching the ISHAM database, the relatives of pathogenic strains were found for all these fungi. Most fungal genera are also known to include toxin-producing species. Although the number of fungal species isolated from each flavor of cakes is limited, the re-inoculating trial found that almost all isolated fungi could grow on a given flavor of cakes, and low temperature preservation could inhibit the growth of these fungi. Conclusion: This study provided the new understanding of the fungal diversity on baked cakes, and revealed that it was difficult to accurately identify cake-contaminating fungi by ITS sequences alone. Other alternate DNA barcodes were needed for accurate identification. Results of this study could also guide the reasonable preservation of cakes and ensure food safety.