Microbiology of organic and conventionally grown fresh produce

Maffei, Daniele Fernanda; Batalha, Erika Y; Landgraf, Mariza; Schaffner, Donald W.; Franco, Bernadette Dora Gombossy de Melo

doi:10.1016/j.bjm.2016.10.006

Cited by 69 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…The median concentrations of filamentous fungi in examined vegetables were 3.49-5.0 log 10 CFU g -1 , being in the middle of values reported for fungi (moulds and yeasts) determined in the fresh and whole vegetables collected in various countries of the world, which varied within a fairly wide range of 1.1-6.1 log 10 CFU g -1 [2,3,12,13]. Concentrations of filamentous fungi in carrot and beetroot determined in the presented study were similar to the concentrations of aerobic mesophilic bacteria found in these vegetables on conventional farms [14].…”

Section: Levels Of Filamentous Fungi In Root Vegetables and Adjacent mentioning

confidence: 61%

“…A great increase in vegetable consumption that has been observed globally in the past 20 years, is largely due to the fact that they provide health-promoting diet supplements, such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fibres [1,2]. Organic farming that keeps to environmentally-friendly principles, without using artificial chemicals and genetic modifications, greatly contributes to the development of the vegetable branch of agriculture and is generally recognized as safe for consumers, in spite of some earlier reservations concerning the use of manure as a potential source of pathogenic microorganisms [2,3,4,5,6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fungal diversity of root vegetables and soil rhizosphere collected from organic and conventional farms in Eastern Poland

Kłapeć

Cholewa

et al. 2018

Ann Agric Environ Med.

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It was found that the mean concentration of fungi was higher in vegetables and soil from conventional farms than in those from organic farms. In the case of carrots and soil from conventional farms, this concentration was 4.93 and 5.10 log₁₀ CFU g^-1, respectively, whereas from organic farms - respectively, 3.81 and 4.20 log₁₀ CFU g^-1. In the case of beetroots and soil from conventional farms, the mean concentrations were also higher compared to organic farms - 5.09 vs. 3.93 and 4.95 vs. 4.23 log₁₀ CFU g^-1. In the examined vegetables and rhizosphere soil, 61 species of filamentous fungi were found, of which 12 belonged to the genus Penicillium, 4 to the genus Fusarium, and 2 species each to the genera: Aspergillus, Cladosporium and Trichoderma. As many as 28 (45.9%) fungal species that occurred in vegetables and soil are regarded as pathogenic for humans.

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Section: Levels Of Filamentous Fungi In Root Vegetables and Adjacent mentioning

confidence: 61%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fungal diversity of root vegetables and soil rhizosphere collected from organic and conventional farms in Eastern Poland

Kłapeć

Cholewa

et al. 2018

Ann Agric Environ Med.

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“…In this system, harvest and packaging were manual operations with the marketable size lettuce packaged with intact root and peat moss plugs to help prolong shelf life. Although counts for all populations on both pre and postharvest lettuce leaves were within expectations for edible produce, packaging was associated with significantly higher counts (Warriner et al 2009;Cardamone et al 2015;Maffei et al 2016;Mahajan et al 2017;Merlini et al 2018). Packaging processes are believed to contribute to the transfer of microbes from plugs to leaves.…”

Section: Yeast and Mould (Ym)mentioning

confidence: 83%

Sources of food contamination in a closed hydroponic system

Dankwa

Machado

2019

Lett Appl Microbiol

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This study investigated potential contamination sources in a commercial, closed hydroponic system. Water, substrate and lettuce (Lactuca sativa) samples were evaluated for microbiological indicator populations, including aerobic plate count (APC), coliform bacteria (CB) and yeast and mould (YM). Listeria spp. detection via cultural enrichment and agglutination was negative for all samples. Peat moss substrate (postharvest) had the highest counts for APC (6·8 log CFU per g), CB (4·5 log MPN per g) and YM (5·1 and 4·8 log CFU per g respectively). Roots embedded in plugs demonstrated counts for all populations nearly as high as the substrate. Among water samples, a seedling water reservoir housing germinated plants yielded the highest count for APC (5·1 log CFU per g) and CB (2·4 log MPN per g) likely due to the large numbers of plugs and their close proximity in the reservoir. Harvested lettuce leaves demonstrated higher APC (4·1 log CFU per g) than preharvest leaves (1·7 log CFU per g) due to the transfer of microbes from the root ball. These data suggest that substrates are a significant potential source of contamination in hydroponic systems and likely facilitate microbial transfer to harvested leaves. There is, therefore, the need to further investigate mitigation of potential contamination events. Significance and Impact of the Study Hydroponic production is known to provide safe, clean produce. This study, however, suggests that the hydroponic substrate (peat moss plug) is a possible source of contamination in the hydroponic system. This finding is important as most harvested hydroponic lettuces are packaged and sold with substrate and root ball intact. This implies a high probability of microbial transfer from the root ball to edible harvested lettuce leaves.

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“…In many parts of the world, organic cultivation systems use more manure than conventional growers, and chemical treatment against pathogens is prohibited in organic farming. There have thus been some assertions that organic produce represents a more significant safety risk than its non-organic counterpart, although, there is no unequivocal research evidence supporting this claim Loncarevic et al, 2005;Warriner et al, 2009;Ivey, 2011;Maffei et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introduction Of Pathogens Into Soil Via Manure/compost Applimentioning

confidence: 99%

Sources and contamination routes of microbial pathogens to fresh produce during field cultivation: A review

2018

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Foodborne illness resulting from the consumption of contaminated fresh produce is a common phenomenon and has severe effects on human health together with severe economic and social impacts. The implications of foodborne diseases associated with fresh produce have urged research into the numerous ways and mechanisms through which pathogens may gain access to produce, thereby compromising microbiological safety. This review provides a background on the various sources and pathways through which pathogenic bacteria contaminate fresh produce; the survival and proliferation of pathogens on fresh produce while growing and potential methods to reduce microbial contamination before harvest. Some of the established bacterial contamination sources include contaminated manure, irrigation water, soil, livestock/ wildlife, and numerous factors influence the incidence, fate, transport, survival and proliferation of pathogens in the wide variety of sources where they are found. Once pathogenic bacteria have been introduced into the growing environment, they can colonize and persist on fresh produce using a variety of mechanisms. Overall, microbiological hazards are significant; therefore, ways to reduce sources of contamination and a deeper understanding of pathogen survival and growth on fresh produce in the field are required to reduce risk to human health and the associated economic consequences.

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Microbiology of organic and conventionally grown fresh produce

Cited by 69 publications

References 67 publications

Fungal diversity of root vegetables and soil rhizosphere collected from organic and conventional farms in Eastern Poland

Fungal diversity of root vegetables and soil rhizosphere collected from organic and conventional farms in Eastern Poland

Sources of food contamination in a closed hydroponic system

Sources and contamination routes of microbial pathogens to fresh produce during field cultivation: A review

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