Seasonal Variation of the Microbial Quality of Local Vegetables in Giresun, the Northern Province of Turkey

Abstract

Consumption of vegetables, having a significant place in nutrition of humankind, is increasing day by day as their health-improving effects have been better understood nowadays. For such vegetables, certain criteria such as organic production, season production, regional production etc. are taken into consideration. The objective of this study is to research about existence of Bacillus cereus and Salmonella spp. in the locally-grown vegetables offered in local bazaars. Parsley, lettuce, spinach, turnip, carrot, chard, Brussels sprouts and radish produced in the province of Giresun were used in the study. Bacillus cereus and Salmonella spp. analyses were carried out in line with International Organization for Standardization quality standards. Among 89 vegetable samples analyses, Salmonella spp. and B. cereus were not detected in all and 5 of the samples respectively (