Assessment of Microbial Contaminations inDried Tea And Tea Brew.

Abstract

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During the dried tea production process, green tea leaves are undergone several steps at which microbial contaminations in tea would be possible. This study aimed to enumerate fungal and bacterial contaminations in different dried tea brands available in the local market and to enumerate microbial contaminations in the respective tea brew samples. Ten packed tea samples and five loose tea samples were purchased randomly from the local super markets and vendors under three different batches per each brand. Three different culture media; DG 18, DRBC and SPCA were used for the enumeration. Tea brew samples were prepared as per the ISO standards. Results showed that the dried tea and tea brew samples had fungal and bacterial contaminations. A significant reduction of microbial contaminations was observed in the tea brew samples which was more than 94%. Heat resistant spore forming fungal and bacterial colonies found in tea brew samples. Two packed tea brands and four loose tea brands exceeded the accepted levels for fungal contaminations. None of the packed tea brands exceeded the acceptable levels for bacterial contaminations. However, two loose tea brands exceeded that level. Such microbial contaminations may affect the human health while reducing quality and demand for tea brands.