Microbial Profile of Cumin Seeds and Chili Powder Sold in Retail Shops in the City of Bombay

Abstract

A detailed evaluation of the microbial profile of 2 spices, viz. cumin seeds and chili powder, sold in retail shops in the city of Bombay, revealed high aerobic plate counts ranging from 2 × 106/g - 2 × 108/g for chili powder and 1.0 × 104/g to 1.0 × 108/g for cumin. Among the bacteria present, 50–95% constituted sporeformers, which included amylolytic and proteolytic bacilli in both the spices. Aspergillus group was predominant among fungi in chili powder samples. No fungi were found in cumin seed samples examined. Salmonella, Shigella and Vibrio were completely missing from chili and cumin samples. However, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus were found in chili powder.

The microbiological quality of commercial herb and spice preparations used in the formulation of a chicken supreme ready meal and microbial survival following a simulated industrial heating process

“…The preparations found to be within an unacceptable range (TAMB >6 log CFU/g) included: cumin, ginger, pimento, turmeric, parsley, with the maximum mean load of the fennel preparation of 7.36 log CFU/g. These preparations were also reported to contain high incidences of contamination in a number of studies carried out by other researchers (Abou Donia, 2008;Banerjee & Sarkar, 2003;Baxter & Holzapfel, 1982;Bhat et al, 1987;De Boer, Spiegelenberg, & Janssen, 1985;Garcia et al, 2001;. In the present study, 40% of spices (12 of 30) were of marginal quality (TAMB within 4e6 log CFU/g), and another 40% (12 of 30) were acceptable (TAMB <4 log CFU/g).…”

“…In surveys in India, yeasts were also detected in cumin, at levels ranging between w1 and 4 log CFU/g (Banerjee & Sarkar, 2003;Bhat et al, 1987). Molds were present in 50% (15 of 30) of spices at levels 1.01 log CFU/g e 3.64 log CFU/g with the highest count in onion (Table 1).…”

“…Because they are grown, harvested and processed in warm, humid climates, using simple production methods, herbs and spices may contain a diverse indigenous microflora. Studies on the microbiology of these commodities have shown the presence of high microbial total counts, up to 8 log CFU/g, in black pepper, paprika, chili powder, cumin seeds (Baxter & Holzapfel, 1982;Bhat, Geeta, & Kulkarni, 1987;McKee, 1995). Therefore, herbs and spices may provide a possible conduit to introduce food spoilage organisms into a range of meals (Garcia, Iracheta, Galvan, & Heredia, 2001).…”

Presence of Bacillus cereus in Packaged Some Spices and Herbs Sold in Istanbul

“…B. cereus ranked as one of the most common cause of food poisoning in some countries (Konuma et al, 1988;Todd, 1996). In some studies, investigators were found B. cereus in spices and herbs in different levels (Bhat et al, 1987;Deambrosis and Da Silva, 1992;Kenifel and Berger, 1994;Konuma et al, 1988;Powers et al, 1976;Rosenberger and Weber, 1993). In our study, the highest contamination levels were obtained from chopped red pepper, powdered black paper, cumin powder and chopped mint samples.…”

“…of B. cereus. According to Bhat et al (1987), the isolation rate of B. cereus was high in chilli powder. In the cumin seed samples, however, B. cereus incidence was lower than chilli powder samples.…”