Brief Introduction/Rationale:
The promotion of a healthier lifestyle has increased the demand for fresh vegetables which are consumed raw or minimally processed. This, however, is not without food safety risks. A major concern is contamination of these fresh produce with microbial pathogens such as pathogenic bacteria. Among the associated bacterial pathogens are Enteropathogenic (EPEC) and Enterotoxigenic (ETEC) E. coli, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp. and Staphylococcus aureus. Several microbial reservoirs within the farm exist and may account for the transmission dynamics of the pathogens within the farm setting.
The project, under the FRESH FARMS Program, generally aims to assess the extent of contamination with selected bacterial pathogens in agricultural soils, farm produce and fertilizers used in selected farms (organic and conventional) in the Philippines, particularly from Laguna and Quezon provinces (the major producers of vegetable crops in Region IV), and provide information on the possible transmission dynamics.
Objectives:
The specific objectives of the study are to:
- conduct a survey of selected organic and conventional farms in Laguna and Quezon provinces, to include information about the farming system and management practices used;
- estimate the heterotrophic and total coliform counts in the soil, salad vegetables and fertilizers sampled from the selected farms;
- determine the prevalence of selected bacterial pathogens (E. coli pathogenic serotypes, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., and S. aureus) in the soil, vegetables and fertilizer samples collected;
- isolate, purify, characterize phenotypically the putative bacterial pathogens isolated;
- identify molecularly the isolates using 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis ;
- establish possible transmission between farm soil, farm produce and fertilizer bacterial pathogen isolates through determination of their genetic relatedness by Multilocus Sequence Typing;
- determine the risk factors that contribute to the presence of these bacterial pathogens in the agricultural setting; and
- formulate policy recommendations on good farming practices for food safety.
Project Personnel:
Project Leader: Dr. Bernadette C. Mendoza, Associate Professor, Microbiology Division, IBS, UPLB
Project RA: Lycka P. Maluping, University Research Associate 1, MCBD, IBS, UPLB
Project Staff: Donald A. Luna, University Research Associate 1, EBD, IBS, UPLB)
MS Candidates:
Abigail Faye V. Mancia
Kristiane P. Polido
Jemaine Catherine T. Ramos
Implementing Office: Microbiology Division, Institute of Biological Sciences, UPLB
Duration: 01 July 2018 to 30 June 2020
Funding Agency: National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP)-Department of Science and Technology (DOST)
Project’s Contact Information:
c/o Dr. Bernadette C. Mendoza
Email: bcmendoza@up.edu.ph
Office Address: Microbiology Division, Institute of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, UPLB
