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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.

The bacterial counts of commercially available species were found to be in the range of 102-107/g, whereas the fungal counts varied between 102 and 103/g. Among the five spices studied, pepper, cardamom, and nutmeg mace had a high microbial load compared to cinnamon and clove. Exposure to -irradiation in the dose range of 7.5-10 kGy was adequate to sterilize all the spices. The essential oil of clove and cinnamon exhibited inhibitory properties against aflatoxin-producing aspergilli. -Irradiation did not affect fungal inhibitory principles present in clove, though marginal reduction was observed in that of cinnamon.

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