Tanga City is the region with several micro-and small-scale pasta processing companies in the country. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the quality and safety of folded vermicelli produced by the small-scale processors in Tanzania. Samples of 1 kg folded vermicelli were collected from 14 processing companies, by the intentional cluster sampling technique. The samples were analysed for aflatoxin and microbiological (<i>Escherichia coli</i>, <i>Aspergillus flavus</i>, and <i>Aspergillus parasiticus</i>) quality. Moreover, physico-chemical quality was assessed in terms of diameter by using a digital calliper, moisture content by oven-drying method at 110℃± 5℃, breaking strength by the texture analyzer, and colour by colourimeter (Chroma Meter CR-400) of the collected samples were determined. In terms of microbial quality, the results indicated contamination by <i>E. coli</i> (1.25-3.00 Log CFU.g<SUP>-1</SUP> in 8/14 samples), <i>A. flavus</i> (2.23-2.83 Log CFU.g<SUP>-1</SUP> in 12/14 samples), and <i>A. parasiticus</i> (1.22-2.75 Log CFU.g<SUP>-1</SUP> in 2/14 samples) as they are beyond the set limits. The diameter varied between 0.90 mm to 1.73 mm in 9/14 samples and moisture content were 10.61% to 12.65% in 13/14 samples, being within the established parameters. The samples indicated low breaking strength with levels between 6.79x10<SUP>5</SUP> N.m<SUP>-2</SUP> to 3.75x10<SUP>6</SUP> N.m<SUP>-2</SUP> in 11/14 samples. The result of brightness (L*) were between 53.03 to 72.14 and yellowness (b*) between 13.68 to 19.48 indices, indicating that there was no significant difference at the 5% level, respectively, although 2/14 samples had red (a*) colour values (-1.32 – +0.56). However, 4/14 samples were detected with aflatoxin B<SUB>1</SUB> (0.60-0.70 μg.kg<SUP>-1</SUP>), they are within the recommended level (5 μg.kg<SUP>-1</SUP>). The study underscores the need for concerted efforts to enhance production and hygiene practices to ensure consistent compliance with quality and safety standards.
