Introduction. The global demand for soy and soy products continues to grow steadily, with forecasts indicating further increases in the production of this commodity. While soy is primarily used as animal feed, its consumption among consumers is on the rise. Both organic and traditional agriculture aim to achieve the same goal – producing food products. In accordance with the current European Union law, all food available on the market, not only that which is labeled as organic, must be safe and provide proper nutritional values. Soy products, such as tofu, are susceptible to the growth of microorganisms due to their high water and protein content, posing a health risk to consumers. The aim of the study was to compare the microbiological quality of organic and conventional tofu. Total bacterial counts, total fungal counts, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were determined.
Results and conclusions. E. coli was not detected in the tested tofu samples, while the presence of S. aureus was found in more than half of the samples, with a maximum of 5.4·10² cfu/g. A statistical analysis did not show statistically significant differences between the origin of tofu and the total counts of fungi (p = 0.8293) or S. aureus (p = 0.5673), but revealed significant differences in the total count of mesophilic bacteria contaminating tofu depending on their origin (p = 0.0191). In particular, a higher number of these microorganisms was found in organic tofu samples (7.8·10² cfu/g) compared to conventional ones (1.7·10² cfu/g). The highest level of fungi (1.2 ÷ 4.8·10² cfu/g) was observed in 8 % of organic tofu samples. The results obtained emphasize the importance of maintaining appropriate hygiene standards during the production and storage of tofu to ensure food safety for consumers.