The bacteriological quality of crabs from three different mangroves (Itaóca, Suruí, and Piedade) from Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, was investigated using conventional and molecular methods. The results revealed high counts for total coliforms in meat and hepatopancreas samples. PCR analyses identified 25 Escherichia coli colonies in the Itaóca, Piedade, and Suruí samples, detecting 13 enterotoxigenic colonies and 9 enteroaggregative colonies. Respectively, 12, 11, and 21 Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains were detected in the Itaóca, Piedade, and Suruí samples. Two V. cholerae strains were detected in the Piedade samples. The E. coli strains isolated in the present study showed resistance to gentamicin. E. coli strains from the Piedade samples showed 33% resistance to chloramphenicol and the strains also showed multiresistance to several antimicrobial agents with a MAR index ranging from 0.12 to 0.31. Vibrio strains from Piedade, Itaóca, and Suruí showed 86%, 78%, and 85% resistance, respectively, to ampicillin. The isolated Vibrio strains showed multiresistance to several antimicrobial agents, with a MAR index ranging from 0.12 to 0.25. The presence of these organisms in crab meat is an indication of microbial contamination, which may pose health risks to consumers when improperly cooked.

Irrigation water and cultivated soil have been identified as possible sources of contamination in several crops. In certain vegetables that are eaten raw, such as lettuce, this contamination can lead to public health problems. Aiming to evaluate the influence of these sources on the quality of lettuce grown in the Córrego Sujo Basin, Teresópolis, RJ, an important agricultural pole whose production services the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, water from different sources (spring, weir and river) was collected in this region, as well as samples of soil and lettuce irrigated with these waters, to carry out conventional microbiological analyzes (counts of total heterotrophic bacteria and thermotolerant coliforms) and molecular analyzes (PCR-DGGE). The count of fecal coliforms in lettuce suggests that there is an influence of irrigation water and the cultivated soil on the contamination of these vegetables. The grouping of bacterial communities in the different samples obtained by the PCR-DGGE technique shows that irrigation water has a greater influence on the contamination of these vegetables in relation to the soil where they are grown. These results corroborate the need to monitor water bodies used for irrigation and demonstrate that the PCR-DGGE technique is of great value for the study of microbial communities and, when associated with specific primers, can help in the detection of pathogens in food.

Resumo Este estudo objetivou avaliar a qualidade física, química e microbiológica das águas utilizadas para irrigação de hortaliças na Bacia do Córrego Sujo, Teresópolis, RJ, importante polo agrícola cuja produção abastece a região metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro. Análises de coliformes termotolerantes, bactérias heterotróficas totais e parâmetros físico-químicos foram realizados em oito diferentes pontos dos canais fluviais dessa bacia. Segundo a Resolução CONAMA 357/2005, os resultados dos parâmetros físico-químicos estudados, exceção para oxigênio dissolvido em duas estações (6 e 7), apresentaram valores próprios para a irrigação de hortaliças consumidas cruas e que se desenvolvem rente ao solo, como as cultivadas no local. Porém, segundo a mesma resolução, apenas uma estação (4) apresentou água com qualidade microbiológica própria para esse mesmo fim. Nossos resultados apontam para a necessidade de um maior controle da qualidade das águas utilizadas para irrigação nessa região; uma vez que hortaliças irrigadas com águas contaminadas podem transmitir diversas doenças.

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To assess bacteriological safety of mussels Perna perna, harvested in Itaipu, Niter oi, RJ and purchased at São Pedro fishmarket at the same city, fecal coliform counts and detection of Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp. and Vibrio spp. was performed in 27 mussel and 9 seawater samples collected between March 2012 and April of 2013. The pathogens isolated were submitted to antimicrobial susceptibility test.The majority (74%) of the mussel samples were unfit for human consumption and 89% of the seawater samples had unsatisfactorily high levels of contamination according to Brazilian laws. From the 77 E. coli and 51 Vibrio spp. isolated, 13% and 68.6% showed multiresistance and 15.6% and 72.5% showed multidrug resistant, respectively. The only Salmonella strain isolated was susceptible to all antimicrobial tested. Serotypes of Salmonella spp. and V. cholerae were not detected from the enrichment broths. Water pollution and food manipulation, throughout the food production chain, were factors which influenced the contamination of mussels. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSThis is the first report studying microbial quality of mussels along their process before arriving at the market; including characteristics of virulence genes and antimicrobial resistance of pathogens. Our study demonstrated that after collection, the manipulation realized by mussel's pickers is an important source of contamination, warning to the necessity of a better monitoring in the commercialization of this seafood.