Microbial quality of some herbal teas offered for consumption in herb shops and markets

In this thesis, it was aimed to determine the microbial quality of some herbal teas, to reveal whether they are safe in terms of pathogen bacteria growth and food safety. The study was carried out with samples of sage, chamomile, lavender, linden, anise, fennel, ginger, lemon balm, echinacea and hibiscus herbal teas taken in packed from two different markets and taken openly from two different herb shops. Escherichia coli, coagulase (+) Staphylococcus, Clostridium perfringens, Bacillus cereus, yeast-mold, and Salmonella spp. were examined in the samples. Salmonella spp. was not found in any of the samples examined, while B. cereus was detected in all of them (100.0%). It was determined that E. coli growth was in 19 of the 40 samples (47.5%), coagulase (+) Staphylococcus growth was in 34 of them (85.0%), C. perfringens growth was 37 of them (92.5%) and yeast-mold growth was in 30 of them (75.0%). The highest average count of E. coli (4.39±0.33 log cfu/g) was in lindens taken openly from herb shops, the highest average count of coagulase (+) Staphylococcus (5.07±0.69 log cfu/g) in ginger tea bags, the highest average count of C. perfringens (4.07±1.12 log cfu/g) in anise tea bags, the highest average count of B. cereus (5.43±0,04 log cfu/g) in ginger tea bags and the highest average count of yeast-mold (4.52±1.32 log cfu/g) in chamomiles taken openly from herb shops were found. As a result; it was observed that the microbial contamination detected in some of the herbal tea samples examined was at levels that could pose a risk for food safety.