title: Assessment of the microbiological safety of dried spices and herbs commercialized in Spain.
abstract: Spices and herbs are natural products or their blends that must be free of extraneous matter content. Conventional production of these products implicates a number of hygienic problems so spices and herbs may be exposed to a wide range of microbial contamination during pre- and post-harvest and they can present high microbial counts. In this study, we have analyzed the microbial quality of 53 samples of spices and dry herbs collected from Spanish markets detecting a contamination of samples of spices with mesophilic aerobic counts (10%) and Enterobacteriaceae (20%). The analysis from herbs showed that the percentage of contamination was 26% in both microbiological values. Pathogenic microorganisms like Staphylococcus aureus, Yersinia intermedia, Shigella spp., Enterobacter spp., Acinetobacter calcoaceticus and Hafni alvei were also isolated from spices and herbs. These unsatisfactory results showed a poor microbiological quality. Spices and dry herbs are used as ingredients in a variety of products prepared in different ways, this fact suggests the need to provide a control system to improve the quality of herbs and spices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Valencia, Av. Vicent Andrés Estellés s/n, 46100, Burjassot, Spain. m.isabel.sospedra@uv.es
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sospedra
authors.forename: Jose M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Soriano
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mañes
mesh_terms: D001420:Bacteria, Aerobic / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005511:Food Handling; D005516:Food Microbiology; D010945:Plants, Edible / Q000382:microbiology*; D013030:Spain; D017365:Spices / Q000382:microbiology*