Bacterial Communities Associated With Organic And...

Bacterial Communities Associated with Organic and Conventionally Grown Red Delicious Apples Overview Many studies have been done pertaining to ways to remove different types of bacteria from the fresh fruits and vegetables that are commonly consumed. Currently there is little research available that maps the types of bacteria commonly found on fruits and vegetables (Leff and Fierer 2013). Many different standards have been set forth to measure produce quality with some of these standards including a count of the coliforms, Escherichia coli, and the aerobic bacteria count (Wood et. al). This study aims to compare the number of coliforms found on organic vs. conventionally grown Malus pumila before and after washing with distilled water.†¦show more content†¦One of the biggest areas of this demand is in the produce department (Mukherjee et.al 2006). Statically during this same time frame there has been an increase in foodborne illness stemming from fresh produce. From the 1970s to 2006 the percentage of foodborne illness caused by fresh fruits and vegetables went from 6% to 1 2% (Mukherjee et.al 2006). Due to these increased percentages of foodborne illness, and data supporting more coliform bacterial colonies present on organic produce than the conventional counter parts researchers are beginning to speculate that organic produce has a higher risk to people’s health then the conventional counterparts (Mukherjee et.al 2006). There is still very little previous research comparing the microbial colonies found on organic vs conventional produce to fully assess the possible increased health risks of organic produce. Another area of lacking data that adds to the confusion is in the United States the number of foodborne illness outbreaks have not been documented based on organic vs conventional produce (Mukherjee et.al 2004). In order to help control foodborne illness outbreaks an in-depth understanding of the bacteria commonly found on the produce needs to be known. If a core taxa of bacteria was known there could be a comprehensive method of testing produce for any bacteria that is not typically found to be present. Thanks to next generation sequencing of 16S rRNA amplicon a more comprehensive list can be created in a