Hi cosmicbrat,
Enterobacteriaceae are an indicator organism and are a large family of Gram-negative bacteria that includes a number of pathogens such as Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Citrobacter, Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Shigella, Proteus, Serratia and other species.
To add to the Health Canada Limits of RTE Food - See Food Standards Australia New Zealand Compendium of Microbiological Criteria for Food which refers to Enterobacteriaceae as an Indicator Organism as well:
Table 2. Interpreting results for testing of indicator organisms in ready-to-eat foods.jpg 108.6KB
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The presence of indicator organisms in larger numbers indicates the potential for the presence of pathogens. There a many examples of issues with pathogen contamination of herbs and spices:
It's not the chicken, it's the adobo: Hundreds of spices recalled after FDA warns of Salmonella fears
McCormick recalls 3 seasonings for possible salmonella; Walmart, Target, Kroger among stores that sold spices
Recalls of Spices Due to Bacterial Contamination Monitored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: The Predominance of Salmonellae
FDA Just Confiscated 25,000 Bags of These Spices Due to "Unsanitary Conditions"
ASTA Microbiology of Spices has more examples and guidance. It also states: It is noteworthy that the FDA considers spices sold to customers to be RTE products by nature according to the 2017 Food Code [73]. The general public might not consider spices to be a food safety risk and frequently uses them without subsequent cooking. Although most foods made by food manufacturers are cooked or processed prior to consumption, many are also consumed without the benefit of a lethality step, such as cooking at the appropriate temperature and time by boiling, baking, etc [73]. The implication of this is that companies must ensure that spice products are processed to control potential hazards prior to being sold to consumers.
Clearly there is a problem with your dry raw material. The most sensible option would be to reject it and send it back to the supplier. Thinking it may be acceptable in tea is a risky path I wouldn’t want to go down.
Kind regards,
Tony