Sterilization of Ground Prepacked Indian Spices by Gamma Irradiation

Abstract

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 comparative effect of steaming and irradiation on the physicochemical and microbiological properties of dried red pepper (Capsicum annum L.)

“…Similarly, a dose of 10 kGy reduced the total aerobic bacteria by 4-5 logs in powdered hot pepper (Farag et al, 1995), red chili pepper (Munasiri et al, 1987), and ground black pepper (Waje et al, 2008). Steaming treatment slightly decreased (1 log) the total plate count in peppers.…”

“…In some countries, such as Australia and USA, up to 30-kGy dose is permitted. Irradiation at 10 kGy was found to be effective in destroying bacteria and moulds without affecting the quality attributes of different spices (Farag, Aziz, & Attia, 1995;Munasiri et al, 1987;Onyenekwe & Ogbadu, 1995;Sharma, Padwal-Desai, & Nair, 1989).…”

An innovative process for the production of spices through immediate thermal treatment of the plant material

“…In this study the entire plants except for their roots were processed into a coriander powder. Coriander is often associated with high microbial loads exceeding 10 6 cfu/g (Baxter & Holzapfel, 1982;Munasiri et al, 1987), including mycotoxin producing moulds (Garrido et al, 1992;Shrivastava & Jain, 1992). The coriander plants used in this study showed a high TPC of about 10 7 cfu/g (Table 7).…”

“…The simple and often unhygienic drying conditions implicate high microbial loads, mainly consisting of mesophilic bacteria, but anaerobic spore forming bacteria, moulds, and yeasts may also be present. The most serious problems in paprika and chili products particularly evolve from Salmonella species, E. coli, Clostridium perfringens, S. aureus, and B. cereus (Candlish et al, 2001;Munasiri et al, 1987).…”

Chemical and Microbial Quality of Irradiated Ground Ginger

“…Color changes from gamma irradiation have not been reported for ginger; however, the surface color of ground paprika was reported as slightly darkened or browned over 4 mo storage following processing with 5-kGy gamma irradiation (Farcas, 1988). Munasiri et al (1987) reported a 5% reduction in color for red chili powder and no reduction in color of powdered tumeric following a 10 kGy dose of gamma irradiation. Narvaiz et al (1989) reported no significant differences in odor, flavor or color in cinnamon and clove between controls and samples irradiated at 7-kGy and lo-kGy.…”