Organic lettuce: effect of pre-harvest treatment with biological control agent and post-harvest storage conditions on the residual indigenous microbiota and survival of Salmonella spp.

• Grant number: 18/20120-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: November 01, 2018
• End date: April 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Science
• Principal Investigator: Bernadette Dora Gombossy de Melo Franco
• Grantee: Marcelo Belchior Rosendo da Silva
• Supervisor: Mieke Uyttendaele
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Ghent University (UGent), Belgium
• Associated to the scholarship: 17/00388-0 - Salmonella spp at critical points in organic vegetables production chain in the state of São Paulo: contribution for risk assessment, BP.MS

Abstract

The consumption of vegetables is encouraged by health authorities around the world due to their health benefits. Several studies have reported the efficiency of the application of Biological Control Agents (BCA) for the control of phytopathogens in agricultural production, but little is known on their use in organic vegetable crops. No study have evaluated the survival of BCA on crops and their effect on the autochthonous microbiota and contaminating pathogens that cause foodborne diseases, such as Salmonella spp. during storage. The main objective of this BEPE project is to complement the study of Salmonella spp. at critical points in the organic vegetable production chain by evaluating the effects of biological control agents employed in the pre-harvest treatment for pest control in the autochthonous microbiota and Salmonella spp. during post-harvest storage under different conditions (time, temperature and atmosphere). The persistence of BCA in the lettuces under the tested conditions will also be monitored. (AU)