## 3 Results and Discussion
### Physical Changes in Tarhana Samples during Storage  
The irradiation doses applied had a slight effect on the pH, acidity degree and moisture content of tarhana samples (Table 1). However, significant changes were observed in these parameters independent of irradiation with storage time. The pH of the tarhana samples increased during the storage (p \(<\) 0.05). There were no differences between tarhana samples at the beginning of storage, but the pH increase was slower (p \(<\) 0.05) in the 5 and 10 kGy irradiated tarhana samples for later storage times. In contrast to the pH increase, the acidity degree of the tarhana samples decreased during storage (p \(<\) 0.05); in particular, in the third month of storage, there was a significant decrease in the acidity degree of all tarhana samples (p \(<\) 0.05). There was no difference during storage for the acidity degree of tarhana samples with different irradiation doses. As expected, the moisture content of tarhana increased depending on the storage time; in particular, in the third month, the amount of moisture was increased significantly in the tarhana samples (p \(<\) 0.05). Moreover, the moisture contents of 5 and 10 kGy irradiated tarhana samples were lower from the beginning to the end of storage. Dried tarhana is hygroscopic and has a rapid moisture absorption ability [2,3]. Although tarhana is traditionally stored in pouches or commercial polyethylene bags [1,4], the pH increase and decreased acidity in addition to the increased moisture content might be the cause of microbial development and pest formation, as shown above.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l l l l} \hline \hline
**Samples** & **Months** & **pH** & **Acidity Value * ** & **Moisture Content (\%)** \\ \hline Control & 0 & \(4.28\pm 0.00\)\({}^{\text{Da}}\) & \(23.25\pm 4.11\)\({}^{\text{Aa}}\) & \(17.17\pm 0.05\)\({}^{\text{Ca}}\) \\  & 1 & \(4.87\pm 0.28\)\({}^{\text{Ca}}\) & \(18.40\pm 2.52\)\({}^{\text{Aa}}\) & \(16.95\pm 0.24\)\({}^{\text{Bb}}\) \\  & 3 & \(5.46\pm 0.57\)\({}^{\text{Db}}\) & \(11.71\pm 0.82\)\({}^{\text{Aa}}\) & \(18.44\pm 0.24\)\({}^{\text{Bc}}\) \\  & 5 & \(6.16\pm 0.51\)\({}^{\text{Db}}\) & \(11.40\pm 1.67\)\({}^{\text{Aa}}\) & \(18.98\pm 0.15\)\({}^{\text{Bc}}\) \\ \hline
2.5 kGy & 0 & \(4.20\pm 0.00\)\({}^{\text{Ca}}\) & \(20.92\pm 2.86\)\({}^{\text{Aa}}\) & \(17.14\pm 0.21\)\({}^{\text{Ca}}\) \\  & 1 & \(5.08\pm 0.16\)\({}^{\text{Ca}}\) & \(17.20\pm 0.85\)\({}^{\text{Aa}}\) & \(16.97\pm 0.25\)\({}^{\text{Ba}}\) \\  & 3 & \(5.57\pm 0.03\)\({}^{\text{Cb}}\) & \(12.45\pm 1.32\)\({}^{\text{Aa}}\) & \(18.16\pm 0.42\)\({}^{\text{Bb}}\) \\  & 5 & \(5.88\pm 0.56\)\({}^{\text{Cb}}\) & \(10.43\pm 0.36\)\({}^{\text{Aa}}\) & \(18.32\pm 0.36\)\({}^{\text{Bc}}\) \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 1: The pH, acidity degree * and moisture content changes during the storage of irradiated and control tarhana samples.  
Figure 1: The microbiological changes and pest formation during the storage of irradiated and control tarhana samples. (**a**) Pest formation, (**b**) total aerobic mesophilic bacteria (TAMB), (**c**) yeast and (**d**) _Bacillus cereus_ counts. Capital letters represent the p \(<\) 0.05 level of statistical difference between the storage times of the tarhana samples, while the lower-case letters show the p \(<\) 0.05 level of statistical difference between the irradiation doses.