Six different dried spices, which are commonly used in daily cooking, were purchased from Jalgaon city market and analysed for the detection of fungi associated with them. In all 32 fungal species belonging to 9 genera were isolated and identified. The genera isolated during present study were: Aspergillus, Alternaria, Mucor, Penicillium, Rhizopus, Mortierella, Alternaria, Curvularia, Eurotium and Trichoderma, among which Aspergillus was dominant. The colonization frequency of Alternaria alternata and Aspergillus versicolor was maximum (45%), followed by that of A. ochracious (44%), A. flavipes (39%), A. awamori (37.5%) and A. flavus (36%). Jeshthamadh was the most contaminated spice, while turmeric was least contaminated.
Spices, Contamination, Mycoflora, Mycotoxins
