ASSESSMENT OF MICROBIAL LOAD IN BRANDED DRIED TEA MARKETED IN SMALL POUCHES

Tea being an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis, is the most widely consumed drink in the world after water. There may be microbial contamination of tea powder commonly due to mishandling and unhygienic conditions during the storage and processing of tea. This microbial contamination may lead to serious health hazards. The study aims at conducting a microbial analysis of 10 samples of commercially available tea pouches to study the presence of various microorganisms including fungi in the samples of tea powder. According to the study, it was found that the bacterial load was observed in 80% of the samples (8 out of 10) of branded tea marketed in small pouches and the number of bacterial colonies ranged from 2-68 CFUs; sample no 7 showed the highest bacterial count of 68 CFUs. The bacteria that was commonly observed was bacillus and there was also fungal load in 60% of the sample (6 out of 10) pouches. This research serves as an eye opener to tea addicts and makes them know about the risk of increase in microbial load during shelf period.