JOURNAL OF FOOD SAFETY AND FOOD QUALITY-ARCHIV FUR LEBENSMITTELHYGIENE, vol.71, no.5, pp.124-128, 2020 (SCI-Expanded)
In this study, the microbiological qualities of a sweet product, tahini halva (helva, halawi), which is consumed as a ready-to-eat confection but no heat treated during production were determined for the risk assessment of public health. Between the years of 2010 to 2015, 68 halva containing pistachio, 68 halva containing cocoa and 68 plain halva samples from five tahini production companies and five different brands were analysed in Adana of Turkey. Microbiological quality of samples, in terms of total aerobic mesophilic bacteria count, yeast and mould count, Staphylococcus (S.) aureus count, coliform bacteria and Escherichia (E.) coli count, as well as the presence of Salmonella spp. were evaluated.