Abstract:
Spices and herbs are widely used in almost all types of food preparation and their microbial contamination may cause spoilage and pose public health risk. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the effect of packaging, source and a food safety management system (FSMS) on the microbiological quality of spices and dried herbs in a developing country, like Lebanon. For this, a total of 96 composite samples of thirteen most commonly consumed types of spices and dried herbs were collected twice at three-month interval. Each type was purchased in 5 common brands from 4 categories: packaged in companies with FSMS, packaged in companies without FSMS, packaged imported, and unpackaged. Total aerobic mesophilic bacteria (TAMB), sulfite reducing anaerobic bacteria, C. perfringens, coliforms, E. coli, yeasts and molds were found in 89%, 43%, 18%, 15%, 1% and 54% of the samples, respectively. All samples were negative for Salmonella. One per cent, 4%, 6%, 1% and 7% of the samples had unacceptable levels of TAMB, coliforms, sulfite reducing anaerobic bacteria, E. coli, yeasts and molds, respectively. Among the four categories, imported samples had the lowest microbiological load, followed by locally packaged in companies with FSMS, then locally packaged in companies without FSMS and the highest microbiological load was for the unpackaged spices and dried herbs. This study highlighted the importance of storage conditions, good hygienic practices, process controls and FSMSs in the spices and dried herbs sector.
摘要:
香料和草药广泛用于几乎所有类型的食品制备中,其微生物污染可能导致腐败并构成公共卫生风险。因此,这项研究的目的是评估包装的效果,来源和关于发展中国家香料和干草药的微生物质量的食品安全管理系统(FSMS),比如黎巴嫩.为此,总共收集了96个复合样品,其中13种最常用的香料和干草药,间隔三个月两次。每种类型都是从4个类别的5个常见品牌中购买的:包装在具有FSMS的公司中,打包在没有FSMS的公司中,包装进口,没有包装。总好氧嗜温细菌(TAMB),亚硫酸盐还原厌氧菌,产气荚膜,大肠杆菌,大肠杆菌,89%的人发现了酵母和霉菌,43%,18%,15%,1%和54%的样品,分别。所有样品对沙门氏菌呈阴性。百分之一,4%,6%,1%和7%的样品有不可接受的TAMB水平,大肠杆菌,亚硫酸盐还原厌氧菌,大肠杆菌,酵母和霉菌,分别。在四个类别中,进口样品的微生物负荷最低,其次是在当地包装的公司与FSMS,然后在没有FSMS的公司中进行本地包装,并且最高的微生物载量是未包装的香料和干草药。这项研究强调了储存条件的重要性,良好的卫生习惯,香料和干草药部门的过程控制和FSMS。