Distribution and quantification of escherichia coli and escherichia coli O157 : H7 in organic Vegetables at Farm Level

Lim, Poh Yiin (2013) Distribution and quantification of escherichia coli and escherichia coli O157 : H7 in organic Vegetables at Farm Level. [Final Year Project Report] (Unpublished)

PDF (Please get the password by email to repository@unimas.my, or call ext: 3914/ 3942/ 3933) Lim Poh Yiin ft.pdf Restricted to Registered users only Download (13MB)

Abstract

Organic vegetables are grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, thus they attract many consumers whom are concerned with their health. However, several researches had reported the presence of foodbome pathogens such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Escherichia coli 0157: H7 in organic vegetables. The aim of this study is to detect and characterize E. coli as well as E. coli 0157: H7 in raw organic vegetables from four organic farms located at Kuching and Siburan areas. Fifty one samples were collected and analyzed using Most Probable Number (MPN) supplemented with Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method. E. coli was successfully isolated and enumerated from the organic vegetables samples. Characterization of nine of the E. coli isolates through antibiotics susceptibility test (AST) showed that five of them were multi resistant and possessed high risk of contamination by having Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR) Index of 0.571 and 0.286. Fortunately, none of the samples tested harbored for pathogenic E. coli 0157: H7.

Actions (For repository members only: login required)

View Item