Hygienic and sanitary evaluation of minimally processed vegetables sold in public fairs in the Western Region of Paran State, Brazil

Abstract

The microbiological quality of minimally processed vegetables sold in the public fairs of the numerous towns in the Western Region of Paraná State, Brazil, was studied. Lettuce, salad rocket, cabbage and chicory randomly collected were sent to the Food Analysis Laboratory (Lanali) in Cascavel, Brazil. The vegetables were analyzed for total and thermotolerant coliforms, aerobic mesophilic bacteria and Salmonella sp. Total coliforms were detected at different rates in all samples of vegetables analyzed. Cabbages from town 5 had the highest contamination rate (3.6x10 6 UFC/g) and the highest mean contamination rate (4.1x10 4 UFC/g) in terms of thermotolerant coliforms in 147 samples, at different count rates. In all the samples collected and analyzed, Salmonella sp. occurred in 10. Results show that vegetables sold in the public fairs in the Western Region of Paraná, Brazil were not good for human consumption due to feces-originated bacteria or high mesophilic counts. In fact, they are the possible sources of toxin and infections caused by pathogens.