On the Fungal Contents of Spices

Abstract

Fungal content of 24 samples of various types of spices of which a half was domestic and the others were collected from the markets in U.S.A., was surveyed from the hygienic point of view on foodstuffs. From 15 mold-positive samples, 12 were estimated under heavy contamination. Twenty eight fungi were isolated from these spices and were identified. Except a few Fungi Imperfecti and Mucorales, the majority of the species was found to be belonging to the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium. In the genus Aspergillus, the members of A. glaucus, A. flavus, A. niger, A. terreus and A. versicolor groups were the predominant species on the Japanese samples. In Penicillium, the series commonly found was P. chrysogenum only appearing in paprika of Japanese sample. The important contaminants in U.S.A. samples were identified as representatives of the A. glaucus group. No aflatoxins were detected in CHCl₃ extracts of the rice culture of A. flavus which were found in Japanese sage and pepper. Since some spices such as garlic powder are known to have a bacteriostatic or bacteriocidal property, it may be suggested from the result obtained that some spices are not subject to spoilage.