ACTA SCIENTIFIC NUTRITIONAL HEALTH (ISSN:2582-1423) Volume 4 Issue 5 May 2020 Research Article Determination of Microbiological Attributes of Unpackaged and Packaged Raisin Samples Sold in Manisa Markets Kivilcim Çelik* and Bülent Ergönül Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Manisa Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey *Corresponding Author: Kivilcim Çelik, Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Manisa Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey. Received: March 14, 2020 Published: April 10, 2020 © All rights are reserved by Kivilcim Celik and Bulent Ergonul. Cfu: Colony Forming Units Abstract Keywords: Microbiology; Raisin; Package; Unpackage; E. coli; Staphylococcus aureus Dried raisin which has a high economic value is an essential product of Eagean Region, especially in Manisa. Raisins that can be sold outdoors in some places contain the microbial load. This microbial load may be at levels that may threaten human health. In this study, it is aimed to determine the microbiological attributes of unpackaged or packaged dried raisin samples from different locations of the Manisa region. A total of 62 different dried raisin samples were collected and brought into Manisa Celal Bayar University, Mi- crobiology Laboratory and were taken under microbiological investigation. Average microbiological attributes of 43 unpackaged and 19 packaged dry raisin samples were determined and were compared to values given in Communication for Microbiological Criteria for Dried Fruits and Vegetables of TSE. Abbreviation Grape is a high-calorie food due to its high sugar content. It is also rich in calcium, potassium, sodium and iron. It is also an es- sential source of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3 and C [1-3]. Grapes have been the subject of research because they contain more pheno- lic compounds than many fruits and vegetables [4]. Grapefruit is known as effective in the treatment of liver diseases and anemia. It is reported to be good food for the kidney and intestinal system with fruit acids and fibrous structure and it has been reported to play a role in cleaning blood [1,3]. As a result of the studies, it was found that grape fruit has high antioxidant substances (tocopher- ols and phenolic compounds) and dietary fiber content is high. It was found out that grape seed contains high amount of unsaturat- ed fatty acids and approximately 80 - 85% of these fatty acids are linoleic acid [4]. Furthermore, compounds such as oleanolic acid, oleanolic aldehyde, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, betulin, betulinic acid, 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furfural and sitosterol in grapes show antibacterial effect [5]. 35% of the grapes grown which are produced in Turkey is for drying [6]. Besides, according to 2017 grape production data 1.603 million dried raisins were produced in Turkey [7]. 20 - 28% of the Introduction raisins produced in Turkey are being consumed domestically and the rest is exported. Seedless raisin is the product with the highest export potential with a share of 33.68% among the product groups in the export of dried fruits and vegetables [8]. Turkey ranks first in market share in world exports of raisins [9]. Drying of food is defined as the removal of moisture from food [10,11]. Although the method of drying food base has been applied since the early ages, the transfer of the process to the industrial dimension took place in the 18th century [10]. Drying or dehydra- tion is the process of removing water from solids in order to slow down or stop the growth of microorganisms or chemical reactions. According to another definition, drying is the process by which the water in the fruits and vegetables is reduced to 80 - 95% in order to last for a long time [12-15]. Drying applied to foodstuffs has many purposes. The most im- portant of these is to prevent product deterioration during stor- age. This is achieved by drying the product's moisture to a level sufficient to limit microbial growth and other reactions [13,16,17]. Furthermore, by reducing the amount of moisture, the quality properties such as taste, odor and nutritional value are preserved. Another purpose of the drying process is to increase the efficiency of transport and storage by reducing product volume [17,18]. Dry- ing has advantages as well as disadvantages. Color browning, mi- Citation: Kivilcim Celik and Bulent Ergonul. “Determination of Microbiological Attributes of Unpackaged and Packaged Raisin Samples Sold in Manisa Markets". Acta Scientific Nutritional Health 4.5 (2020): 10-13.