Table 8.

Fungi: Natural occurrence of Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium genera in spices in the last 5 years (since 2015).

Microfungi/Spice	Aspergillus spp.			Penicillium spp.			Fusarium spp.			Reference
	Positive a (%)		n b	Positive (%)		n	Positive (%)		n
Anise	⏺	100	3	⏺	100	2	⏺	50.0	2	[109,111,144]
Basil	⏺	100	1	⏺	100	1	×	0.0	1	[109]
Bay leaf	⏺	100	2	⏺	100	2	⏺	50.0	2	[109,145]
Caraway	⏺	100	6	⏺	80.0	5	○	20.0	5	[8,109,111,144,145,146]
Cardamom	⏺	83.3	6	⏺	50.0	6	⏺	33.3	6	[109,119,126,127,145,146]
Chili	⏺	100	15	⏺	66.7	9	⏺	100	6	[8,106,109,111,113,131,132,144,146,147,148,149,150,151]
Cinnamon	⏺	50.0	8	⏺	50.0	6	×	0.0	5	[109,111,127,131,144,145,146,149]
Cloves	⏺	37.5	8	○	14.3	7	×	0.0	4	[109,127,131,145,146,147,148,149]
Coriander	⏺	100	6	⏺	60.0	5	×	0.0	5	[8,109,111,144,145,146]
Cumin	⏺	80.0	5	⏺	75.0	4	⏺	50.0	4	[8,109,111,144,146]
Cumin, black	⏺	100	2	⏺	50.0	2	⏺	50.0	2	[109,145]
Curry	⏺	75.0	4	×	0.0	4	×	0.0	2	[144,146,147,148]
Fennel	⏺	100	8	⏺	50.0	6	⏺	60.0	5	[8,109,111,126,127,131,145,149]
Fenugreek	⏺	100	3	⏺	66.7	3	⏺	33.3	3	[8,109,146]
Garlic	⏺	100	3	×	0.0	3	×	0.0	1	[109,147,148]
Ginger	⏺	100	7	⏺	33.3	6	⏺	50.0	4	[8,109,111,144,146,147,148]
Licorice	⏺	100	1	⏺	100	1	×	0.0	1	[109]
Mace	⏺	100	1	⏺	100	1	⏺	100	1	[126]
Marjoram	⏺	100	1	⏺	100	1	×	0.0	1	[109]
Mint	⏺	100	1	⏺	100	1	×	0.0	1	[109]
Mustard	⏺	66.7	3	⏺	66.7	3	×	0.0	3	[109,127,146]
Nutmeg	⏺	90.0	10	⏺	60.0	10	×	0.0	4	[105,109,127,144,146,147,148,152,153,154]
Oregano	⏺	100	2	⏺	100	1	-	-	0	[131,149]
Paprika	⏺	100	2	⏺	100	1	⏺	100	1	[107,111]
Parsley	⏺	100	1	⏺	100	1	×	0.0	1	[109]
Pepper, black	⏺	91.7	12	⏺	75.0	8	⏺	33.3	6	[8,109,111,118,126,127,131,144,146,149,151,155]
Pepper, white	⏺	100	6	⏺	50.0	4	×	0.0	2	[118,131,144,146,149,151]
Rosemary	⏺	100	3	⏺	50.0	2	×	0.0	1	[109,131,149]
Saffron	⏺	66.7	3	⏺	50.0	2	×	0.0	2	[109,111,146]
Star anise	×	0.0	1	×	0.0	1	×	0.0	1	[127]
Sumac	⏺	50.0	2	×	0.0	2	⏺	50.0	2	[109,145]
Thyme	⏺	100	3	⏺	33.3	3	⏺	100	1	[109,147,148]
Turmeric	⏺	100	5	⏺	80.0	5	⏺	60.0	5	[8,109,126,144,146]

Notes: ^a Positive = the percentage of studies with at least one related spice sample positive on related mold; ^b n = number of studies concerning related spice and mold; × = none occurrence (0%); ☆ = rare occurrence (up to 5%); ○ = low occurrence (up to 25%); ⏺ = moderate occurrence (up to 50%); ⏺ = high occurrence (up to 75%); ⏺ = very high occurrence (more than 75%).