Abstract
Dried chilli is one of the highly traded spices globally and is well-known for its natural flavour, colour, and unique pungent taste. It is rich in nutrients and has medicinal benefits. During the dehydration and storage process, the proliferation of unwanted microorganisms in dried chilli is unavoidable. Recently, the occurrence of toxigenic fungi and faecal coliforms has been widespread that can cause severe illness and even death. Therefore, sanitation treatment is highly required to decontaminate undesirable microorganisms. Among the common sanitation treatments applied, food irradiation is gaining attention worldwide because of concern for post-harvest loss, foodborne disease, and more stringent regulation in dried chilli trading. Irradiation can successfully preserve dried chilli from pathogenic bacteria with minimal disturbance to critical physical properties, such as pungency and colour. It can also save dried chilli from secondary pollution by storing it into final packing before radiation which helps in distribution to market promptly after treatment. Furthermore, radiation does not leave any chemical residues after the treatment, ensuring the quality and safety of the dried chilli. The efficiency of radiation depends mainly on the initial level of contamination and the persistence of the harmful microorganism. A low irradiation dose is sufficient for dried chili to reduce microbial load to an acceptable level and eliminate pathogens even though a minimum radiation dose of 10 kGy is required for complete sterilization. However, high dosage may affect the colour properties. Gamma radiation, X-ray, and electron beam radiation are the three approved radiation sources for dried chilli in most countries and proven effective for dried chilli preservation. Thus, this review paper highlights the microbial and physical quality properties in gamma radiated dried chillies.
Highlights
Being one of the primary agriculture produce, spices are used throughout the world for culinary purposes
Other possible microbial contaminations for spices are the presence of indigenous microorganisms from plants, unhygienic food processing area, air, dust, polluted water source/irrigation with the presence of human/animal excreta, improper pre- and post-harvest handling during processing, storage and distribution [24]
The author concluded that chillies radiated after being packed into high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bags will eliminate the possibilities of re-contamination and can be safely stored for better quality retention
Summary
Being one of the primary agriculture produce, spices are used throughout the world for culinary purposes. Among the spices, dried chilli is one of the largely consumed spices and the major producer in the world is India [6]. Dried chilli contamination with pathogenic microorganisms, such as Salmonella causes significant public health issues all over the world. The other contaminant issue in limelight for dried chilli currently is the mycotoxin, aflatoxin and ochratoxin. Knowing the fact for health risk caused by spices, food regulatory bodies, and authorities worldwide such as the Food and Drug Administration (United States), Singapore Food Agency, and Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (European Commission) conducts frequent inspection for the local and imported spices, dried chilli and its product. In this review, dried chilli radiation and its effect on the basic quality parameters will be discussed
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
