While dried laver serves as an important raw ingredient for seaweed snacks, the microbial quality and safety risks associated with the preparation and processing of dried laver have not been well studied. In this project, three commercial laver processing plants were sampled from 2020 to 2022. Results indicated that the current washing and two-step drying process increased the microbial loads in dried laver. The total aerobic plate count (APC), coliform, and mold counts in dried laver ranged from 7.34 to 7.91, 2.12 to 3.87, and 1.65 to 3.87 Log CFU/g respectively. The study further explored the decontamination efficacy of four post-drying treatments (three non-thermal and one thermal treatments). Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma (150 kV, 10 min), UV-C radiation (40 cm, 30 min), ozone (150 ppm, 40 min), and hot air (150 °C, 30 min) reduced the APC and coliform levels by 2.10 and ∼1.12, 0.98 and 1.03, 2.12 and ∼2.87, and 3.00 and 2.24 Log CFU/g respectively. Unfortunately, Ozone and hot air treatments led to significant color change and nutrient losses. Microorganisms become harder to control once dried on food, future study should explore the use of pre-drying treatments to better enhance the microbial quality and safety of dried laver. • The microbial safety and quality of dried laver is a concern. • Currently-used washing process has limited effect on removing microorganisms. • The two-step drying process lead to increases in microbial counts in dried laver. • Nonthermal post-drying treatment could reduce total microbial counts by up to 2 Log. • High temperature baking reduced total bacteria by ∼5 Log but caused quality loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]