Study o Safety and Shelflife of Red Chili Paste

Abstract

Red chili is an important food ingredient which may not be always self, when obtained from the market. The aims of the study was to evaluate the safety and shelf life of red chili paste. Based on survey conducted with 20 vendors in Bogor, we found red chili paste in generally composed of red chili, water, and NaCl. About 75% of the vendors claimed that their red chili paste not sold in the first market day is stored in a plastic container at room temperature and resold for the next day. They claimed that their red chili paste can be stored for 2-8 days. The red chili paste showed moisture content of 71.6-86.8% (w/wb), pH 4.7-6.9% (w/w). About 33.3% of them positively contained excessive amount of sodium benzoate and 36% of them contained Rhodamin B which is prohibited as food coloring. From the microbiological side, the red chili paste contained 9.5 x 10 ³ - 3.8 x 10⁵cfu/g mould and yeast; 1.2 x 10³ - 5.6 x 10⁴ cfu/f spore forming bacteria; 5.2 x 10²- 1.2 x 10⁴ cfu/g S. aureus; <3 – 205 MPN/g coliform; and 6.25% samples positively contained E. coli. This result suggested the need to improve the hygiene practices to reduce the microbial / exposure, and control of food additives use (Rhodamin B colorant and sodium benzoate). Red chili paste containing 6% NaCl can be stored for 2 days while those containing 500 and 1000 ppm sodium benzoate can be stored for 5 and 12 days. This result suggested that use of legal appropriate dose of sodium benzoate can prolog shelf life without endanger the consumer.

Key words: red chili paste, sodium benzoate, Rhodamin B, microbial exposure, storage.