Background: The public has increasing concerns about herbal crops owing to insufficient information on biological hazards such as foodborne pathogens. Therefore, the objective of this study is the development of a herbal crop quality control system through monitoring with biological hazard analysis. Today, it is estimated that millions of people become ill every year from food contamination. The public demands agricultural products of stable and consistent quality. Governments have the responsibility of establishing the standards, legislation and enforcement programs necessary to control food quality and safety. However, research on the biosafety of herbal crop products is still insufficient. Therefore, the implementation of monitoring systems with high standards is critical for public safety. Methods and Results: In this study, we collected 52 samples of herbal crop products, and conducted both quantitative and qualitative biological hazard analysis. With biological hazard analysis, aerobic bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, Coliforms, and Listeria spp. could be detected. Conclusions: Herbal crops were found to be contaminated with aerobic bacteria at 3.69 ± 0.32 log CFU/g. Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, Coliforms, and Listeria spp. were not detected in any of the samples. This research suggests that continuous monitoring of biological hazards is required to improve the quality of herbal crops.

This study was conducted to obtain the basic data related to seed characteristics and germination conditions of the Coriandrum sativum L. at different storage condition and temperature. The shape of fruit was oval with light brown color. Fruit was mericarp, biloculate, with one ovule in each locus. The length and width of seed were 1.37 ± 0.067㎜ and 0.52 ± 0.039㎜, respectively. Weight of 1,000 seeds was 6.55 ± 0.15 g. Seeds which were stored at room (15℃) and cold temperature (4℃) in vinyl container showed the highest germination rate (93.3%) under the room temperature germination condition. Percentage of germination in cold and freeze temperature was 20% and 0%, respectively. Germination rate of room storage seeds with paper container increased to about 91.3%, however, decreased in cold (4℃) and freeze storage (−20℃) with paper container (76.7% and 78.0%, respectively). Germination rate of seed in vinyl stock container was better than that of paper stock container. Germination rate of seeds stored at room temperature for 4 years (2010 - 2013) ranged from 80.0% to 91.3%. Therefore, coriander seeds are expected to be stored at room temperature for increasing the germination rate and keeping a long term.