Song Zheng Qi Tobey

• Bsc (Honours) Food & Human Nutrition
• Microbiological profile of hydroponic vegetables grown in Singapore

Consumers world-wide prefer to buy locally-grown and freshly harvested vegetables   for their better taste and higher nutritional value. Hence, hydroponic farming is slowly becoming popular in small countries like Singapore. This project aims to explore the hydroponic farming technique and test the microbiological safety profile of commonly consumed green leafy vegetables grown in a local hydroponic farm. Spinach samples grown hydroponically were compared to those grown conventionally for susceptibility to microbial contamination and subsequent effect on shelf-life. Bacteria was isolated using the Swab technique and characterized using a combination of different growth conditions and biochemical tests. Results show that hydroponically grown vegetables harboured fewer bacterial species, but exhibited a shorted shelf life compared to conventionally grown spinach. This could possibly be attributed to the extensive amount of insecticides used in conventional farming practices. Further testing would be required to conclude if the bacterial species on the hydroponic spinach are pathogenic.

 Funding source: Newcastle University

 Supervisor: Dr Saloni Kaur Dang