Garlic Food Safety app with AI for easy garlic Food Safety:

Garlic Food Safetys during production

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Black garlic is produced by aging fresh garlic in high-temperature (60–90°C) and high-humidity (70–90%) conditions for several weeks.
Clostridium botulinum spores are prevalent in soil and consequently naturally found in agricultural products, including garlic. If black garlic is improperly produced in commercial or household settings in the danger zone between 4°C and 60°C under anaerobic conditions, C. botulinum spores may germinate and produce botulinum neurotoxin, which may cause a rare but serious paralytic disease.
Good Manufacturing Practices must be followed during production, and the thermal conditions of the processing equipment must be consistently monitored to ensure that the optimal temperature is maintained to prevent the production of botulinum neurotoxin.
The pH and water activity (Aw) of the final black garlic product influences how the product should be stored to prevent the growth of spoilage microorganisms and mould.
Due to the lack of temperature monitoring in household appliances such as slow cookers and rice cookers, production of black garlic in such appliances is not recommended.

Daily Garlic packhouse hygiene checklist

Garlic is a well-known plant that is widely used around the world and throughout history as a spice and as a herbal remedy.1,2 It is rich in many organosulfur compounds, polyphenols, flavonoids, and carotenoids, many of which have antifungal, antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and cardio-protective properties.2-6 Despite the potential health benefits, people may be reluctant to consume raw/fresh garlic due to its pungent odour and spicy flavour caused by the presence of organosulfur compounds such as alliin and allicin (which are only produced when garlic is cut or crushed).1,2,7 In addition, several side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and other types of gastric discomfort associated with consumption of excessive amounts of fresh garlic have been documented.5,8

As a result of its taste and odour, garlic has been transformed into many different products such as garlic powder, garlic juice, and supplement pills in an attempt to make it more palatable.1 One of these products is black garlic. Some studies demonstrated that levels of biologically active compounds such as S-allyl cysteine, polyphenols, and flavonoids increased significantly in black garlic compared to fresh garlic, contributing to the higher antioxidant capacity of black garlic.7,9 In addition, multiple in-vitro and animal studies have shown that black garlic has anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, hepatoprotective, anti-cancer, anti-allergy, immunomodulation, cardio-protective, and neuro-protective properties.1,2,9

Garlic Food safety & management

While the author did not find any foodborne illness outbreaks associated with black garlic, there are food safety risks associated with black garlic if it is improperly processed or handled, especially in household settings. Many recipes for homemade black garlic in household appliances such as slow cookers or rice cookers can be found online, and the products may even be available for sale through private online platforms. This evidence brief will discuss the potential food safety risks associated with the production of black garlic and how to mitigate these risks.

Garlic Supplier Food Safety & management

A search of academic and grey literature in English that pertain to the health benefits of black garlic, its production methods, and associated food safety hazards was conducted in EBSCOhost databases (includes Medline, Cinahl, Academic Search Complete, ERIC, etc.) and Google Scholar, with no specific date restrictions. Keywords used for the database searches include the following:

(“black garlic” OR “black aged garlic” OR “fermented garlic” OR “black Allium sativum L”)

AND

(health OR benefit OR risk OR illness OR botulism OR outbreak OR safety OR toxicology OR toxicological OR enteropathogen OR enteropathogenic OR “e coli” OR gastroenteritis)

Other

(black AROUND(5) garlic OR “Allium sativum L”) OR (aged AROUND(5) garlic OR “Allium sativum”)

"black garlic" in title (black OR fermented) AND “functional food”

Additional keywords used in supplemental searches using Google and the University of British Columbia Library include variations of black garlic, fresh garlic, raw garlic, Clostridium botulinum, and Clostridium perfringens. Additional literature was identified through the reference sections of relevant literature in the above-mentioned search results.