# Microbiological Safety and Health Properties of Markleted Fermented Root Vegetables
###### Abstract  
The study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant potential and microbial composition of edible fermented vegetable roots available on the Polish market, including celerica, carrot, betroot, radish, and white radish. The microbiological determinations were conducted according to European Standards. The total phenol content (TPC) was measured by the Folin-Ciocalteu (FC) method, while the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was analyzed by CUPRAC and DPPH assays. The mean recovery for FC, CUPRAC, and DPPH was in the range of 104-105%, 97-102%, and 96-108%, while the precision amounted to 2.3, 2.75, and 5.99, respectively. The average antioxidant potential among all fermented roots decreased in the following order: betroot > celerica > radish > carrot > white radish. In the case of microbiological analyses, no bacteria were found in pasteurized products. However, among unpasteurized vegetables, 7 out of 11 products met the FAO/WHO criteria for probiotic foods, as they contained a sufficient number of lactic acid bacteria and lacked _Escherichia coli_. None of the tested products were contaminated with _Bacillus cereus_, _Salmonella_ spp., _Enterococcus_ spp., or spore-forming anaerobic bacteria. Moreover, chemotherapeutic techniques such as the Kruskal-Wallis test and cluster analysis were used to differentiate samples in view of their antioxidant potential. These analyses demonstrated the similarity of vegetable samples from the _Apiaccue_ and _Brassicae_ families while highlighting differences in antioxidant potential compared to samples from the _Amaranthaceae_ family. food microbiology; fermented roots; antioxidant potential 2020 IEEEestablished that the name probiotic is reserved only for products containing a minimum of \(10^{6}\) colony-forming units (CFU) per 1 mL [11]. Lactic acid bacilli fulfill an important part in food processing [12]. These microorganisms improve food safety and flavor profiles and may synthesize bioactive substances, like gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) [13]. Biological detoxification by LAB is believed to be a promising approach to reduce the risk related to the presence of chemical, microbiological, and environmental contaminants in food [14]. It has been demonstrated that lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have the ability to bind or degrade various pollutants, thereby reducing their intestinal absorption and facilitating the excretion of toxic substances. The effectiveness of contaminant binding by LAB is influenced by factors such as temperature, pH, the presence of bile salts, and the concentrations of both probiotics and toxic substances [13; 14]. As a result, the incorporation of LAB cultures and the use of food fermentation represent a safe, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective approach to mitigating or eliminating hazardous substances. Moreover, the fermentation process enhances microbiological safety. This effect is attributed to the production of lactic acid, the primary metabolite of LAB, which lowers the pH of the environment. The reduced pH inhibits the proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms, thereby contributing to improved food safety [15]. Nonetheless, a study has demonstrated that microbiological pathogens, such as _E. coli_ or _Staphylococcus_ species, can persist in environments with a pH of less than 4 [16]. Moreover, microorganisms during fermentation produce alcohols, aldehydes, and organic acids, which affect the sensory quality of food [17; 18]. The antioxidant potential of edible plants, including vegetables and root crops, is commonly evaluated using various analytical methodologies [3; 19; 20; 21; 22]. However, the comparability of results across different studies is often limited due to the diversity of methods employed [23]. Among the available techniques, the Folin-Ciocalteu (FC) assay is the most widely used for determining total phenolic content (TPC) [24; 25; 26]. This method is well-established and recognized as a reliable analytical approach.