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Various herbal teas including German chamomile, Chrysanthemum Vascufl ow herb tea, hop, jasmine and orange fl owers, sweet marjoram, spearmint and thyme leaves, and papaya-mint tea as well as coffee substitutes (Bambu instant Swiss, Teeccino chocolate-mint, and Teeccino Mediterranean Espresso) were analyzed for fungal contamination and the presence of aerobic mesophilic bacteria (APC). The results of this investigation showed that fungal counts reached levels as high as 5.8 × 10 5 colony forming units (cfu) per gram. German chamomile harbored the highest fungal contamination. The most common fungi found in herbal teas were Aspergillus niger, Penicillium spp., Eurotium rubrum, E. chevalieri, A. fl avus, Fusarium spp., Alternaria alternata, and yeasts. Among the coffee substitutes, only the chocolate-mint coffee was contaminated with low numbers (Ͻ1.0 × 10 3 cfu g −1 ) of E. rubrum, Ulocladium spp. and Phoma spp., and with yeasts (Ͻ100-6.8 × 10 3 cfu g −1 ). Aerobic mesophilic bacteria were recovered from 100% of the herbal tea, chocolate-mint and Mediterranean Espresso, and from 50% of the Bambu instant Swiss coffee samples. The highest APC counts of 1.2 × 10 7 cfu g −1 were observed in spearmint leaves.

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An acetylcholinesterase inhibition method was employed for detection of 21 carbamate pesticides in bananas, peaches, strawberries, and tomatoes. Each of these four agricultural commodities was spiked with 0.1 to 10 ppm of each of the 21 carbamates and individual detection levels were determined. Similar responses and detection limits were observed for all four produce when tested for a given carbamate. The detection levels ranged from 0.1 ppm for carbofuran and 3-hydroxycarbofuran to 6 ppm for promecarb and aldicarb sulfoxide. These results are generally at or below the tolerances established by the Environmental Protection Agency for these commodities. Positive samples from the enzyme inhibition screening were also analyzed with the carbaryl-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. The detection limits for carbaryl and carbofuran were 2.0 ppb and 8.0 ppb, respectively. The other carbamates did not exhibit cross-reactivity even at high ppb levels. Thus, the enzyme inhibition assay and ELISA are simple and fast screening procedures for the detection of carbamate pesticide residues in food commodities.

Three kinds of interactions occur between ginseng botanicals and microorganisms: a) spoilage of the botanical by various fungi (e.g., Aspergillus, Penicillium, Alternaria, and Eurotium species) and bacteria; b) transformation of ginsenosides into more bioactive forms by bacteria such as Intrasporangium sp. GS603, Microbacterium sp. GS514, Caulobacter leidyia, Bifidobacterium sp. Int57, Bifidobacterium sp. SJ32, Fusobacterium sp. and Bacteroides sp., and moulds (e.g., Aspergillus niger, Fusarium sacchari, Paecilomyces bainier sp. 229, Rhizopus stolonifer, Myrothecium verrucaria and Acremonium strictum); and c) inhibition of certain bacteria (Propionibacterium acnes, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa), fungi (Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus, Fusarium oxysporum) and viruses by ginseng constituents.