Microbiological and Functioning Quality of Organically Grown Fresh Vegetable

Abstract

Based on health beneficial properties the consumer awareness of organically grown fresh vegetables has assumed significant importance across the globe. In this study we attempted to compare selected organic and conventional fresh vegetables in terms of nutritional value and microbiological safety. The results indicate that organically produced carrot, fenugreek, cabbage, corainder contained higher levels of vitamin C, riboflavin, beta carotene, lutein than the inorganically grown counterparts, though significant enhancements were not observed except in case of lutein in fenugreek. Microbiological analysis indicated lack of high total aerobic counts and pathogens such as Salmonella, Shigella sp and Staphylococcus aureus could not be detected in the organically grown vegetables