Determination of Chemical and Microbiological Quality in Commercial Tahini Samples

Abstract

Tahini is a food product that is frequently preferred both directly and as a main ingredient in various ready-to-eat food products and is consumed with interest, especially in the Middle East geography. Its reputation has recently spread across continents to countries like Canada and the United States of America. Tahini was subjected to a number of analyses to ascertain its physicochemical and microbiological quality within the context of the study since it is a highly consumed product with high consumption and demand values. In this context, tahini samples of 10 different brands were collected from producers and commercially sold markets in Balikesir and Bursa. Samples were taken from two different lot numbers for each company. As a result of the analyzes made on the tahini samples, it was determined that the total oil amount of the samples changed between 49.76-58.7%, the salt amount changed between 0.001-0.0027%, the ash amount was between 1.02%-1.28%, and the moisture value was between 1.1-1.5%; as a result of microbiological cultivations in which the presence of yeast and mold were analyzed, an average of 75 CFU/g viability was determined, while Escherichia coli, which was screened as an indicator of fecal contamination, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella spp, which are pathogenic microorganisms, were not found to be contaminated in all tahini samples. One of the tahini samples was not found in accordance with the Turkish Food Codex Tahini Communiqué (TFC) in terms of the amount of oil. It is concluded that 90% of the samples were manufactured in line with the TFC when the results of the chemical and microbiological analyses were combined.