| Dietary supplement use is very popular in the United States. A change in the regulatory status of these products, which includes substances such as vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids, enzymes, glandulars and other similar items, has contributed to a situation where many of these products are potential safety hazards. An initial step in establishing dietary supplement safety is to evaluate the microbiological quality of these products, and an evaluation was initiated with chamomile, Matricaria recutita, a dietary supplement used within several high risk populations. Tests for aerobic plate count, yeast and mold count, coliform count, E. coli count, S. aureus count and Salmonella spp. detection were conducted on the 4 retail brands of chamomile. No E. coli, S. aureus, or Salmonella spp. were detected in any of the samples. However, yeast and mold counts, coliform counts and aerobic plate counts were higher than National Formulary recommendations for several of the brands and there were significant differences between brands for each of these tests (p < .001). This data will provide consumers, professionals and industry with the information necessary to begin establishing safer dietary supplements. |
