Sanitary Microbial Distribution at the Tomato Farms in Western Gyeongnam

This study were conducted to investigate the microbial contamination level in 5 tomato farms in Western Gyeongnam. A total of 130 samples was examined for sanitary indicator bacteria, such as aerobic plate count (APC), coliforms, and Escherchia coli, and pathogenic bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes. APC and coliform count ranged , respectively, and were contaminated with E. coli. Especially, most of the samples from employees are high as above in APC. S. aureus, detected at , was found in employees' hands, irrigation water, and hydroponic solution. whereas E. coli , Salmonella spp, and L. monocytogenes were not detected. These results will provide fundamental microbiological information for introduction of good agricultural practice (GAP)system in tomato farms.