en تخصصي Special Original article Original article <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="line-height:115%">Background: </span></b><span style="line-height:115%">Halawet eljibn is a popular Ready-to-Eat sweet in the Levant region. However, its non-machinery preparation and lack of final heating increase the risk of contamination by microorganisms that can cause food-borne illnesses. The study aimed to investigate the numbers of microorganisms present in commercially produced halawet eljibn in Jordan.</span></span></span><br> <span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="line-height:115%">Methods: </span></b><span style="line-height:115%">Sixty samples of halawet eljibn were collected from 15 sweet shops in Amman, Jordan at two intervals. Two sample units were taken from each sweet shop, and two reference samples were prepared under hygienic conditions for comparison purposes. The study evaluated the chemical properties of the samples, including moisture content, pH, and titratable acidity, and also assessed their microbiological quality through Aerobic Plate Count, Coliform Count, Lactic Acid Bacteria count, </span><i><span style="line-height:115%">Staphylococcus aureus</span></i><span style="line-height:115%"> count, and yeast and mold count analyses.</span></span></span><br> <span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="line-height:115%">Results:</span></b><span style="line-height:115%"> In this study, the samples exhibited a moisture content ranging from 40.9 to 49.8%, a pH range of 5.7 to 6.7, and acidity levels varying between 0.14 and 0.45%. The average Aerobic Plate Count and the counts of coliforms, Lactic Acid Bacteria, yeast and mold and </span><i><span style="line-height:115%">S. aureus</span></i><span style="line-height:115%"> for halawet eljibn market samples were 6.6, 4.1, 6.8, 3.2, and 2.0 log Colony Forming Unit (CFU)/g, respectively. Counts of interval I (10^th October-12^th December) samples were significantly higher than those of interval II (19^th December-10^th January). The same average counts of the reference samples were significantly lower (2.3, <10, 1.6, 1.4, and <10 log CFU/g, respectively).</span><b><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""></span></span></b></span></span><br> <span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="line-height:115%">Conclusion: </span></b><span style="line-height:115%">The study findings indicate that halawet eljibn provides an appropriate environment for microbial growth. The observed non-adherence to optimal hygienic practices during the production and handling of halawet eljibn underscores the need for more rigorous regulations to ensure its microbiological quality and safety.</span><br> <br> <b><span style="line-height:115%">DOI:</span></b><span style="line-height:115%"> 10.18502/jfqhc.10.4.14179</span></span></span></span></span></div> Staphylococcus aureus,Flour, Foodborne Diseases, Jordan 211 220 http://jfqhc.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1543-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 M.B. AL-Hmoud 0009-0007-6918-8004 No Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan M.I. Yamani myamani@ju.edu.jo 0000-0002-7516-4224 Yes Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan