title: Bacterial and Fungal Counts of Dried and Semi-Dried Foods Collected from Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Their Reduction Methods.
abstract: Food is a basic necessity for human survival, but it is still the vehicle for the transmission of food borne disease. Various studies have examined the roles of spices, herbs, nuts, and semi-dried fruits, making the need for safe and convenient methods of decontamination a necessity. The current study determined the bacterial and fungal loads of 26 spices and herbs, 5 nuts, 10 semi-dried fruits and 5 other foods. Spices, herbs and semi-dried foods demonstrated the highest bacterial and fungal loads with the majority showing over 104CFU/mL. Nuts and other foods showed growths ranging from 102to 106CFU/mL. The current study also attempted to determine the effects of heat and plasma treatment. The log reduction of bacterial growth after heat treatment (maximum: 120 min for 60℃) was between 0.08 to 4.47, and the log reduction after plasma treatment (maximum: 40 min) ranged from 2.37 to 5.75. Spices showed the lowest rates of reduction, whereas the semi-dried and other foods showed moderate to high levels of decrease after heat treatment. The log reduction of fungal growth after heat treatment ranged from 0.27 to 4.40, and log reduction after plasma treatment ranged from 2.15 to 5.91．Furthermore, we validated the sterilization effect of plasma treatment against Bacillus spp. and Staphylococcus spp. by using scanning electron microscopy. Both treatment methods could prove to be advantageous in the agriculture related fields, enhancing the quality of the foods.
authors.affiliation: Kindai University, Department of Agriculture.
authors.forename: Farahnaaz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Feroz
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: Terumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishioka
authors.forename: Miho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Yoshikazu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sakagami
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria; D001459:Bangladesh; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis; D005516:Food Microbiology; D057141:Food, Preserved / Q000382:microbiology*; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D005658:Fungi; D006801:Humans; D058626:Plasma Gases; D013242:Sterilization / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D058626:Plasma Gases