Bacteriological analysis of the red pepper spices marketed as packaged and unpackaged in Istanbul

The red pepper spice, which has been widely used in Turkey, must be examined in terms of possible pathogen content because it can be eaten raw. Therefore, in the current study, a total of 50 red pepper samples (40 unpackaged, 10 packaged) from retail shops in Istanbul were bacteriologically analysed for the presence of Salmonella spp. and bacteria of the Aeromonas genus. At the same time, unsuspicious colonies were tested for the determination of other enteric pathogens. The following results were recorded at the end of the analyses: although 10 % of the samples contained Aeromonas spp., none of the samples were positive for Salmonella spp. It was observed that the unpackaged red pepper samples were contaminated more than the packaged samples. The results obtained from the current study demonstrated that a better control in all aspects of production, processing and usage is required to prevent bacteriological contamination in the red pepper samples.