Bacterial Flora of Vegetables Collected from the Supermarket and Vegetable Market

Abstract

To prevent food borne diseases, microbiological control is very important in the food industry. Therefore, the present investigation was undertaken to conduct a microbiological quality assessment of fresh vegetables that were collected from several regions of Chandigarh. The purpose of this study was to determine the bacterial load and safety of vegetables presented for sale in the marketplace. Vegetable samples (tomato and capsicum) collected from two different sites (vegetables market and supermarket), were analyzed for their bacteriological contaminants following different procedures. The maximum bacterial count present in the vegetable market was compared to that of the super market. The micro biota of these vegetable samples was found to be dominated by Staphylococcus and Bacillus. Bacillus and Staphylococcus were detected in tomato and Capsicum respectively. Bacillus and Staphylococcus were included as the most abundant species and as pathogens of concern when working to improve the microbial quality of fresh vegetables. Our study demonstrated that the vegetables, sold in the vegetable market, were found to contain a higher microbial load that may represent a greater risk for human health. Hence, for many microorganisms, vegetables may act as a reservoir colonize and infect the host.