Abstract
Microbiological safety issues related to dried teas and culinary herbs are influenced by their particular production processes and consumption practices; therefore, a brief description of the production and consumption practices associated with these products, followed by a general review of related microbiological safety issues, is provided. Dried teas are relatively safe products, as evidenced by the lack of reported foodborne illnesses associated with tea consumption. This positive safety record is at least partially due to the heat treatments (steaming and drying) in tea production and during consumer preparation prior to consumption (i.e., by freshly boiled water infusion). In contrast, dried culinary herbs can be carriers of many different microorganisms of public health concern, including Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, and Clostridium perfringens. The safety risk is even more pronounced when contaminated dried herbs are added directly to ready-to-eat foods. A systematic approach that includes the implementation of good agricultural practices and good manufacturing practices along the entire production chain, as well as a microbial reduction treatment for imported herbs, is essential in reducing such risk.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Altman R (2003) Good times for the tea-bagging business. http://www.teaandcoffee.net/0303/tea.htm#prof. Accessed 6 Mar 2013
Anonymous (2003) Tea plant: cultivation, processing, and classification. Imperial Tea Garden. http://www.imperialteagarden.com/CamelliaSinensis.html
Anonymous (2013) Tea packaging, distribution, and trading. United Kingdom Tea Council. http://www.tea.co.uk/tea-packaging-distribution-and-trading. Accessed 6 Mar 2013
ASTM (2010) Standard guide for irradiation of dried spices, herbs, and vegetable seasonings to control pathogens and other microorganisms, vol F1885–04. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA
Balentine DA, Wiseman SA, Bouwens LC (1997) The chemistry of tea flavonoids. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 37(8):693–704
Bouakline A, Lacroix C, Roux N, Gangneux JP, Derouin F (2000) Fungal contamination of food in hematology units. J Clin Microbiol 38(11):4272–4273
Buzzanell PJ, Dull R, Gray F (1995) The spice market in the United States: recent developments and prospects. Agriculture Information Bulletin No. (AIB-709)
CAC (1995) Code of hygienic practice for spices and dried aromatic plants, Codex Alimentarius Commission Available via http://www.greenfoodec.eu/documents/codeofhygienicpracticeforspicesanddriedaromaticplants.pdf. Accessed 6 Mar 2013
Campbell HR (1963) Tea manufacture. Oxford University Press, London, UK
Campbell HR (1966) Tea growing. Oxford University Press, London, UK
Campbell JV, Mohle-Boetani J, Reporter R, Abbott S, Farrar J, Brandl M, Mandrell R, Werner SB (2001) An outbreak of salmonella serotype Thompson associated with fresh cilantro. J Infect Dis 183(6):984
Castro MF, Rezende AC, Benato EA, Valentini SR, Furlani RP, Tfouni SA (2011) Studies on the effects of phosphine on Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis in culture medium and in black pepper (Piper nigrum). J Food Prot 74(4):665–671
CDC (1996) Memo on bacterial contamination of iced tea. Available via http://www.maricopa.gov/envsvc/AboutUs/pdf/Iced%20Tea.pdf. Accessed 6 Mar 2013
CDC (1999) Outbreaks of Shigella sonnei infection associated with eating fresh parsley: United States and Canada, July–August 1998. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 48(4):285–289
CDC (2007) Salmonella wandsworth outbreak investigation, June–July 2007. Available via http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/wandsworth_071107.htm. Accessed 6 Mar 2013
Chukeatirote E, Bankluay K, Kaprom A, Sampanvejsobha S, Winyayong P (2004) Microbiological quality of some tea products in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. Chiang Mai J Sci 31(2):185–189
Clayton L (2011) How to brew the ultimate sun tea. http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2011/07/how-to-make-sun-tea.html. Accessed 6 Mar 2013
Davidson A (2010) The Oxford companion to food. Oxford University Press, London, UK
DeBoer E, Spielenberg WM, Janssen FW (1985) Microbiology of spices and herbs. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek 51:435–438
Donia MAA (2008) Microbiological quality and aflatoxinogenesis of Egyptian spices and medicinal plants. Global Vet 2(4):175–181
ESA (2004) European spice association quality minima document. Available via http://www.ipcnet.org/images/ESA-QS191104.pdf Accessed 6 Mar 2013
Fischer A (2010) The way of tea: reflections of life with tea, 1st edn. Tuttle Publishing, North Clarendon, VT
Flynn D (2009) Veggie booty salmonella outbreak. Available via http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2009/09/meaningful-outbreak-9-veggie-booty-salmonella-outbreak/#.UtQGArT7s1I. Accessed 6 Mar 2013
Garcia S, Iracheta F, Galvan F, Heredia N (2001) Microbiological survey of retail herbs and spices from Mexican markets. J Food Prot 64(1):99–103
Hara-Kudo Y, Ohtsuka K, Onoue Y, Otomo Y, Furukawa I, Yamaji A, Segawa Y, Takatori K (2006) Salmonella prevalence and total microbial and spore populations in spices imported to Japan. J Food Prot 69(10):2519–2523
Heiss ML, Heiss RJ (2007) The story of tea: a cultural history and drinking guide. Ten Speed, Berkeley, CA
Hiramatsu R, Matsumoto M, Sakae K, Miyazaki Y (2005) Ability of shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli and salmonella spp. To survive in a desiccation model system and in dry foods. Appl Environ Microbiol 71(11):6657–6663. doi:10.1128/aem.71.11.6657-6663.2005
Hsu W-Y, Simonne A, Jitareerat P, Marshall MR Jr (2010) Low-dose irradiation improves microbial quality and shelf life of fresh mint (Mentha piperita L.) without compromising visual quality. J Food Sci 75(4):M222–M230. doi:10.1111/j.1750-3841.2010.01568.x
Kaefer CM, Milner JA (2008) The role of herbs and spices in cancer prevention. J Nutr Biochem 19(6):347–361. doi:10.1016/j.jnutbio.2007.11.003
Kniefel W, Berger B (1994) Microbiological criteria of random samples of spices and herbs retailed on the Austrian Market. J Food Prot 57:893–901
Kowalchik C, Hylton WH (1998) Rodale’s illustrated encyclopedia of herbs. Rodale, Emmaus, PA
Lai PK, Roy J (2004) Antimicrobial and chemopreventive properties of herbs and spices. Curr Med Chem 11(11):1451–1460
Lehmacher A, Bockemuhl J, Aleksic S (1995) Nationwide outbreak of human salmonellosis in Germany due to contaminated paprika and paprika-powdered potato chips. Epidemiol Infect 115(3):501–511
Little C, Omotoye R, Mitchell R (2003) The microbiological quality of ready-to-eat foods with added spices. Int J Environ Health Res 13(1):31–42. doi:10.1080/0960312021000063331
Majumder AB, Bera B, Rajan A (2011) Tea statistics: global scenario. Int J Tea Sci (IJTS) 8(1):121–124
McKee LH (1995) Microbial contamination of spices and herbs: a review. Food Sci Technol 28(1):1–11. doi:10.1016/S0023-6438(95)80004-2
Mishra BB, Gautam S, Sharma A (2006) Microbial decontamination of tea (Camellia sinensis) by gamma radiation. J Food Sci 71(6):M151–M156. doi:10.1111/j.1750-3841.2006.00057.x
Mohommad AI, Reynolds J (1996) A preliminary investigation report of iced tea contamination. J Environ Health 59(1):6
Muggeridge M, Clay M (2001) Quality specifications for herbs and spices. In: Peter VK (ed) Handbook of herbs and spices. Woodhead Publishing Ltd., Cambridge, UK, pp 13–22
Pafumi J (1986) Assessment of the microbiological quality of spices and herbs. J Food Prot 49:958–963
Panda H (2011) The complete book on cultivation and manufacture of tea. Asia Pacific Business Press Inc., Kamla Nagar, Delhi
Peter KV (2004) Handbook of herbs and spices, vol 2. Woodhead Publishing Ltd., Cambridge, UK
Pezzoli L, Elson R, Little CL, Yip H, Fisher I, Yishai R, Anis E, Valinsky L, Biggerstaff M, Patel N, Mather H, Brown DJ, Coia JE, van Pelt W, Nielsen EM, Ethelberg S, de Pinna E, Hampton MD, Peters T, Threlfall J (2008) Packed with Salmonella: investigation of an international outbreak of Salmonella Senftenberg infection linked to contamination of prepacked basil in 2007. Foodborne Pathog Dis 5(5):661–668
Polovka M, Suhaj M (2010) The effect of irradiation and heat treatment on composition and antioxidant properties of culinary herbs and spices: a review. Food Rev Int 26(2):138–161. doi:10.1080/87559121003590227
Rasmussen W, Rhinehart R (1999) Tea basics: a quick and easy guide. John Wiley, New York, NY
Ristori CA, dos Santos Pereira MA, Gelli DS (2007) Behavior of Salmonella Rubislaw on ground black pepper (Piper nigrum L.). Food Control 18(3):268–272. doi:10.1016/j.foodcont.2005.10.015
Rolfe J, Cave Y (2003) Camellias: a practical gardening guide. Timber, Portlant, Oregon
Rushing JW (2006) Methods to ensure microbiological safety of organically produced medicinal plants: a review. Hort Sci 41(2):292–295
Saberi H (2010) Tea: a global history. Reaktion Books, London, UK
Sagoo SK, Little CL, Greenwood M, Mithani V, Grant KA, McLauchlin J, de Pinna E, Threlfall EJ (2009) Assessment of the microbiological safety of dried spices and herbs from production and retail premises in the United Kingdom. Food Microbiol 26(1):39–43. doi:10.1016/j.fm.2008.07.005
Satchell FB, Bruce VR, Allen G, Andrews WH, Gerber HR (1989) Microbiological survey of selected imported spices and associated fecal pellet specimens. J Assoc Off Anal Chem 72(4):632–637
Scallan E, Griffin PM, Angulo FJ, Tauxe RV, Hoekstra RM (2011) Foodborne illness acquired in the United States: unspecified agents. Emerg Infect Dis 17(1):16–22
Sospedra I, Soriano J, Mañes J (2010) Assessment of the microbiological safety of dried spices and herbs commercialized in Spain. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 65(4):364–368. doi:10.1007/s11130-010-0186-0
Suppakul P, Miltz J, Sonneveld K, Bigger SW (2003) Antimicrobial properties of Basil and its possible application in food packaging. J Agric Food Chem 51(11):3197–3207. doi:10.1021/jf021038t
te Giffel MC, Beumer RR, Leijendekkers S, Rombouts FM (1996) Incidence of Bacillus cereus and Bacillus subtilis in foods in the Netherlands. Food Microbiol 13(1):53–58. doi:10.1006/fmic.1996.0007
Vij V, Ailes E, Wolyniak C, Angulo FJ, Klontz KC (2006) Recalls of spices due to bacterial contamination monitored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: the predominance of Salmonellae. J Food Prot 69(1):233–237
Vitullo M, Ripabelli G, Fanelli I, Tamburro M, Delfine S, Sammarco ML (2011) Microbiological and toxicological quality of dried herbs. Lett Appl Microbiol 52(6):573–580. doi:10.1111/j.1472-765X.2011.03040.x
Wilson C, Dettenkofer M, Jonas D, Daschner FD (2004) Pathogen growth in herbal teas used in clinical settings: a possible source of nosocomial infection? Am J Infect Control 32(2):117–119. doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2003.09.004
Witten G (2003) Herbal harvest: commercial organic production of quality dried herbs, 3rd edn. Blooming Books, Burnley, VIC
Woodward P (2003) Herbs and spices. The Gale Group Inc. http://www.answers.com/topic/herbs-and-spices. Accessed 6 Mar 2013
Acknowledgments
We thank Dr. Jacqueline Fletcher, Director, National Institute for Microbial Forensics & Food and Agricultural Biosecurity (NIMFFAB), Oklahoma State University, for reviewing the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ma, L.M., Dobhal, S., Timmons, C. (2014). Dried Teas and Herbs. In: Gurtler, J., Doyle, M., Kornacki, J. (eds) The Microbiological Safety of Low Water Activity Foods and Spices. Food Microbiology and Food Safety(). Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2062-4_17
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2062-4_17
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-2061-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-2062-4
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)