Promotion of healthier lifestyles has led to an increase in consumption of fresh produce. Such foodstuffs may expose consumers to increased risk of foodborne disease, as often they are not subjected to processing steps to ensure effective removal or inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms before consumption. Consequently, reports of ready‐to‐eat fruit and vegetable related disease outbreak occurrences have increased substantially in recent years, and information regarding these events is often not readily available. Identifying the nature and source of microbial contamination of these foodstuffs is critical for developing appropriate mitigation measures to be implemented by food producers. This review aimed to identify the foodstuffs most susceptible to microbial contamination and the microorganisms responsible for disease outbreaks from information available in peer‐reviewed scientific publications. A total of 571 outbreaks were identified from 1980 to 2016, accounting for 72,855 infections and 173 deaths. Contaminated leafy green vegetables were responsible for 51.7% of reported outbreaks. Contaminated soft fruits caused 27.8% of infections. Pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli and Salmonella, norovirus, and hepatitis A accounted for the majority of cases. Large outbreaks resulted in particular biases such as the observation that contaminated sprouted plants caused 31.8% of deaths. Where known, contamination mainly occurred via contaminated seeds, water, and contaminated food handlers. There is a critical need for standardized datasets regarding all aspects of disease outbreaks, including how foodstuffs are contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms. Providing food business operators with this knowledge will allow them to implement better strategies to improve safety and quality of fresh produce.

The Fishing House located on the grounds of the Marquis of Pombal Palace, Oeiras, Portugal, was built in the 18th century. During this epoch, Portuguese gardens, such as the one surrounding the Fishing House, were commonly ornamented with glazed wall tile claddings. Currently, some of these outdoor tile panels are covered with dark colored biofilms, contributing to undesirable aesthetic changes and eventually inducing chemical and physical damage to the tile surfaces. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the investigated biofilms are mainly composed of green algae, cyanobacteria and dematiaceous fungi. With the aim of mitigating biodeterioration, four different biocides (TiO nanoparticles, Biotin T, Preventol RI 80 and Albilex Biostat ) were applied in situ to the glazed wall tiles. Their efficacy was monitored by visual examination, epifluorescence microscopy and DNA-based analysis. Significant changes in the microbial community composition were observed 4 months after treatment with Preventol RI 80 and Biotin T. Although the original community was inactivated after these treatments, an early stage of re-colonization was detected 6 months after the biocide application. TiO nanoparticles showed promising results due to their self-cleaning effect, causing the detachment of the biofilm from the tile surface, which remained clean 6 and even 24 months after biocide application. © 2013 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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