Organic Agriculture： Socioeconomic Sustainability of Brazilian Coffee

Worldwide, there is a growing demand for products made by technologies that contribute to environmental preservation and to sustainable rural development. In Brazil, organic farming is one of the most established initiatives in this area. Therefore, it is important to subsidize the decision-making regarding policies for organic coffee production. Thereby, this study analyzed the socio-economic sustainability of this production system in relation to conventional. We applied a semi-structured questionnaire on coffee farms in the Brazilian coffee producers states and analyzed the coffee production cost structure. We identified the reasons that led the producers to organic management, implications of certification on the management, and prices received by organic coffee and the market mechanism. Results showed that there is no standard for organic coffee production and marketing in Brazil. Among the producers, there are different levels of access to technical information and the main limitation of the organic coffee chain is not the technology of production, but the difficulty of coffee marketing. Another important limitation, for medium and large farms, is the cost of manpower, mainly in areas dominated by mountain, where machines operations are not viable. Moreover, the yield of organic coffee system is generally lower than the conventional. Furthermore, soil and climatic differences lead to different regional behavior. Finally, we could conclude that the production of organic coffee can be sustainable in Brazil mainly in two structural conditions： 1） family farmers; and 2） small producers, who employ only one or two workers, preferably only in the harvest time.

Incidence of Coagulase Positive Staphylococcus aureus in Raw Cow Milk Produced by Cattle Farms in Fieri Region in Albania

One hundred and five raw cow milk samples were collected from cattle farms located in Fieri from 2007 to 2009 and have been analyzed for presence of coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus. Nineteen samples were confirmed positive for the presence of this pathogen. Stapylococcus aureus isolates identified appeared typically and atypically characteristics of growth colonies in Baird Parker agar plates at 37°C for 24-48 h. 6 out of 19 strains showed typical characteristics and 13 out 19 （68%） isolates had atypical characteristics. Coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus was found in 18% （1911 05） of fresh milk samples. Milk produced by cows with subclinical mastitis largely influences Staphylococcus aureus count of bulk tank milk than contamination of milking and milk handling equipment by this pathogen. All S. aureus isolates were coagulase positive. 5 （or about 25%） of isolates of S. aureus identified were resistant to penicillin, 7 out 19 isolates or 36% resistant to methicilin and 9 out 19 strains or 47% resistant to vancomycin. Another objective of this study was the evaluation of the number of S. aureus per mL raw milk. The results confirmed that II （57.8%） out of 19 positive cases had more than 100 cfu/mL, indicating a possible risk for intoxication caused by production of entertoxines of coagulase positive S. aureus.

Analysis and Evaluation of Microbial Contamination of Raw Beef in Supermarkets in Phnom Penh

The study focused on analysis and evaluation of microbial contamination of raw beef was designed to （1） determine the presence of foodborne pathogens in raw beef; （2） compare the prevalence of microbial contamination among the three supermarkets, and （3） evaluate the sanitary quality of raw beef products. Also, six kind of microorganisms including Total Plate Count, Total Coliform and Fecal Coliform, which represented sanitary quality and E. coli, S. Aureus and B. cereus, which determined the presence of foodborne pathogens, were analyzed. The procedures used to analyse experimental samples taken from three supermarket （in every one week for three weeks） in Phnom Penh were based on Merck＇s study in 2005. The results had shown that there were no significant differences in Total Plate Counts, Total Coliform and Fecal Coliform in all samples, and they were found in unacceptable numbers in the raw beef products. However, the prevalence of foodborne pathogens including E. coli, S. aureus and B. cereus were found in acceptable numbers. Furthermore, the samples taken from the second supermarket had the highest level of microbial contamination among the three supermarkets, while the samples taken from the first supermarket had the lowest level of microbial contamination. This experimental finding demonstrated the need for sanitary improvement in the beef retails markets and strict sanitary guideline and implementation of these practices could guarantee consumers＇ health by consuming raw beefs with the lowest risk of foodborne pathogens.