Changes in bacterial flora of Japanese cabbage during growth and potential source of flora.

Bacterial flora of cabbage were identified and enumerated during various stages of growth, and the potential sources of contamination in the field were determined. Bacterial counts increased from below the level of detection (2.4 log CFU/g) on seeds to 2.5 to 5.7 log CFU/g on seedlings. After transplanting, the counts of mesophilic aerobic bacteria on leaves decreased and then increased to 5.7 log CFU/g on outer leaves, 5.0 log CFU/g on middle leaves, and 3.0 log CFU/g on inner leaves at the harvesting stage. Counts of coliforms were below the level of detection during the growing period of the leaves. Bacteria isolated from cabbage seeds, seedlings, and leaves were soilborne organisms such as Bacillus, Curtobacterium, and Delftia and phytopathogenic organisms such as Pseudomonas, Pantoea, and Stenotrophomonas. These bacteria were found frequently in seeding machines, potting soil mix, soil, agricultural water, pesticide solutions mixed with the agricultural water, liquid fertilizers, and chemical fertilizers. Contamination from these environmental sites occurred throughout the cabbage growing period rather than only at the harvesting stage. These results indicate that use of clean water for irrigation and for mixing with pesticides and amendments from seeding to the harvesting stage is an important part of a good agricultural practices program for cabbage in Japan.

Potential sources of microbial contamination of satsuma mandarin fruit in Japan, from production through packing shed.

Potential sources of microbial contamination of satsuma mandarin fruit were investigated from production through the packing shed in the 2005 season. Microbial counts in the peel and flesh during the fruit development stage were below 2.4 log CFU/g for bacteria and 3 log CFU/g for fungi, except for the peel in August and September. In the field environment, the highest microbial counts were found in fallen leaves on the ground, followed by soil, organic fertilizer, and agricultural water. Only the pesticide solution collected in July was positive for Salmonella, while no verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli was detected from any of the samples. The bacterial and mold flora in the peel comprised phytopathogenic organisms such as bacteria genus Pantoea and mold genus Mycosphaerella and soilborne organisms such as bacteria genus Bacillus and mold genus Cladosporium, which were found in soil, fallen leaves, agricultural water, and cloth mulch throughout the production season. After fruit harvest and sorting, microbial counts of the peel increased, while those of the flesh remained below the lower limit of detection. Although some of the preharvest sources could also be postharvest sources, some packing shed equipment was assumed to be postharvest sources, because Bacillus cereus was not identified from the fruit in the production field but was detected on the peel after sorting and on equipment such as gloves, plastic harvest basket, and size sorter. These results suggest that using sanitizers for agricultural water and packing sheds to prevent cross-contamination would be useful in a good agricultural practices program of the satsuma mandarin in Japan.