Contamination of common spices in Saudi Arabia markets with potential mycotoxin-producing fungi

Fifteen spices obtained from common markets were examined for their mould profile. A total of 520 fungal isolates, representing 57 species, were recovered and identified from dried and ground spice samples on three different media using standard dilution plate method. The most heavily contaminated spice samples examined were observed in ginger in order of magnitude of 5325-6800 cfu/g. The most predominant fungal genera encountered were Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Rhizopus. Relative occurrence values of taxa disclosed ranged between 80% for Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger and Penicillium arenicola, and 10% for some species. Samples obtained from sumac encountered very rare colony counts indicating its antifungal prosperities. The present magnitude of contamination and spectra of mycobiota approximate those reported for similar spice samples. Several potentially mycotoxigenic fungi were isolated from the majority of samples. The present study attracts the attention to potential risk for mycotoxins contamination may be caused as a result of using these spices, especially in great quantities. The study strongly recommends reduction in application of heavily contaminated spices like ginger in food processing and using some others like clove and sumac due to their antimicrobial properties.