lrradiation Prepacked ground Indian spices which included pepper. turmeric, chilli. and coriander were found to be heavily contaminated with bacteria and molds. The total bacterial counts ranged between IO"-107. whereas total fungal counts ranged between 102-106. Red chilli was found to be the most contaminated spice. The bacterial population consisted mainly of spores. A dose of IO kGy was found to be effective in destroying these microbes in prepacked spices without affecting their quality attributes. To eliminate mold contamination a dose of 5 kGy was sufficient. During a six-month storage study of irradiated and unirradiated spices, the irradiated spices were found to retain their quality.