Microbiological quality of certified and non-certified organic vegetables in Klang, Selangor / Siti Sariyah Adnan

Non-certified organic produces were suggested to contain a greater risk of microbial pathogenic contamination than certified organic vegetables. However, there is no evidence to indicate certified organic food is safer than non-certified organic food. This study aimed to assess the microbiological quality of certified and non-certified organic vegetables sold in Klang, Selangor. A total of 72 samples of certified and noncertified organic vegetables had been collected from organic grocery stores and supermarkets and analyzed by using microbiological examination to determine the microbial load of (Escherichia coli, coliform, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella) in certified and non-certified organic vegetables. Chi-square and Man Whitney test used to identify significant or correlation between variables. This study found the E. coli mean count (0.21 and 0.70 log 10 xiv cfu g -1 for certified and non-certified), coliform mean count (3.5 and 3.85 log 10 cfu g -1 for certified and non-certified) and Staphylococcus aureus mean count (3.13 and 3.50 log 10 cfu g -1 for certified and noncertified).

Salmonella was not isolated in all of the analyzed samples. The result revealed there is no significant difference between certified and non-certified organic vegetables in Escherichia coli (p= 0.050) meanwhile there are significant difference found for coliform (p= 0.008) and Staphylococcus aureus (p=0.007). This study also revealed 13.9% (E. coli) and 90.3% (Staphylococcus aureus) did not meet the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) guidelines for microbiological quality. The result of this study concludes non-certified organic produce poses a substantially greater risk of microbial contamination than does certified organic vegetables and consumer may have potential health risk if they were consumed raw.