Determination of textural and microbiological properties of tarhana chips

Tarhana chips is a traditional fermented product, which is different from many other types of tarhana in terms of materials used in formulation, the process steps and variety of consumption. This product is generally manufactured in form of tortilla chips and widely consumed as a snack by consumers in the region.In this research, 40 samples collected from Kahramanmaraş were investigated for their total mesophylic aerobic bacteria count, mould and yeast count, total coliform bacteria count and Staphylococcus aureus count in order to determine the microbiological risks in terms of consumer health. To determine toxin contents of the samples, total aflatoxine, aflatoxine M1, aflatoxine B1 and ochratoxine analyses were performed by ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) technique. Furthermore, physicochemical traits of tarhana chips were determined and they were compared with the traits of classic potato chips in terms of nutritional value.Based on data obtained from microbiological analysis, total mesophylic aerobic bacteria counts (except for 8 sample), mould and yeast counts, total coliform bacteria counts and Staphylococcus aureus counts of tarhana samples were in compliance with Institue of Turkish Standards communications. Total coliform bacteria counts and Staphylococcus aureus counts of the samples were negative, whereas total mesophylic aerobic bacteria counts of the samples were between 1x102 and 4.9x105 kob/g, and total yeast and mould counts of 13 samples which were determined as positive were between 1x101 and 2.6x102 kob/g. 23 samples out of 40 (57%) contained 0,95- 2463,90 ?g/kg total aflatoxin, 21 samples (52.5%) contained 0,48- 36,56 ng/kg aflatoxin M1, 13 samples (32.5%) contained 0.03-3,33 ?g/kg aflatoxin B1 and only 2 sample (5%) contained 299,26- 715,27 ng/kg ochratoxin A. 21 out of 23 aflatoxin positive samples had higher than levels legal limit (10 ?g/kg).Physicochemical analysis revealed that mean water, ash, salt, fat, protein, acidity, pH and hardness values of chips tarhana samples were 7.63%, 4.35%, 2.61%, 5.88%, 15.29%, 22.26, 3.81 and 5.0 N, respectively. Moreover, the viscosity of soups made from tarhana chips increased as cooking time increased and measurement temperature decreased.