Microbiological Status and Quality Traits of Ready-to-Eat Minimally Processed Vegetables Sold in Córdoba, Argentina

BARAQUET, MARÍA LUCÍA; Camiletti, Ornella Francina; Moretti, C.I.; Rodríguez, L.E.; Vázquez, Carolina; Oberto, María Georgina

doi:10.18502/jfqhc.8.3.7198

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 7 publications

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“…It was argued by Mritunjay and Kumar (2017) that intrinsic adherence properties of gram negative bacteria to the surfaces of vegetables may help them survive washing and sanitizing steps during their preparation. The frequency of isolation of S. aureus in this study is in agreement with 23% S. aureus recovery from ready to eat vegetables in Brazil (Baraquet et al, 2021) but at variance with the 41.5% S. aureus recovery from fresh cut vegetables sampled by Faour-Klingbeil et al (2016). S. aureus is ubiquitous in human body as part of the normal flora of the anterior nares, nasopharynx and the skin (Forbes et al, 2007) which may in-turn contaminate vegetables through the hand of the handlers.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 86%

Microbiological quality assessment of ready to eat vegetables sold in Yankaba Market Kano, Kano State Nigeria

Saka¹,

Ahmad²,

Abubakar³

2022

dujopas

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Safety of food is still a public health challenge globally. Fresh vegetables can be contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms from farm to table. This study evaluates the microbiological quality of ready to eat vegetables sold in Yankaba market, Kano. A total of forty (40) vegetables (cabbage, carrot, cucumber and lettuce) were collected from Yankaba Kasua and Kasua Turawa, and transported to the laboratory under aseptic condition to determine the bacterial load and fungal loads, identification of bacteria and fungi found in ready to eat vegetables using standard protocols. All samples collected had varying level of bacterial contamination ranging from 1.32x105CFU/ml to 1.45x106CFU/ml. The highest mean fungal count was observed in cabbage samples obtained from Yankaba Kasua (8.8x103MC/ml) and carrot from Kasua Turawa (8.0x103MC/ml) whereas the least fungal count was observed in lettuce sample obtained from Kasua Turawa (3.2x103MC/ml). Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were the predominant bacterial isolates accounting for 28.75% and 23.75% respectively whereas Shigella species and Enterobacter species were the least bacterial specie identified from this study, no Salmonella was isolated from this study. Aspergillus genera was found to be the most common fungi specie identified in all the samples accounting for 58.46% of the fungi identified and Geotrichum species was the least fungi identified. This study clearly shows ready to eat vegetables harboured high microbial load majorly E. coli, S. aureus and Aspergillus species which could pose a potential hazard to consumers. There is an urgent requirement for good microbiological practice in handling of ready to eat vegetables, hence the need for application of critical control point of washing in brine and vinegar during preparation.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 86%

Microbiological quality assessment of ready to eat vegetables sold in Yankaba Market Kano, Kano State Nigeria

Saka¹,

Ahmad²,

Abubakar³

2022

dujopas

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Microbial Diversity and Quality of Ready-to-Eat Salad: An Underexplored Area of Local Hotels

Chakrovarty,

Mondal,

Kador

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Ready-to-eat salads, celebrated for their myriad health benefits, have become a ubiquitous dietary choice. However, concerns have surged in light of recent illness outbreaks linked to consumption of raw salads. In response, this study aimed to assess the microbiological quality of ready-to-eat salad, focusing on shelf-life estimation and microbiome characterization. A random sample of twelve salads went through comprehensive microbiological analysis and 16S rRNA metagenomic profiling. The salads appear to be potentially hazardous for ingestion based on the mean values of 7.66 log cfu/gm for aerobic mesophilic count and 7.33 log cfu/gm for psychrotrophic count. In addition, total coliform and Enterobacteriaceae were found (mean 3.66 log cfu/gm for both), but fecal coliform was completely absent. Firmicutes (47.18%), Cyanobacteria (28.19%), Proteobacteria (23.24%), Bacteriodetes (0.88%), and Actinobacteria (0.41%) were the top five phyla discovered. Of the salad samples, Weissella (54.86%) seems to be the most prevalent genus. Notably, genera such as Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, and Enterobacter, potential human pathogens, exhibited more than 1% abundance. Additionally, spoilage-associated LAB organisms, including Leuconostoc and Lactobacillus, and Lactococcus were detected. Furthermore, with the exception of Weissella, the majority of the species showed a positive correlation between protein concentration and spoilage. Increased pH levels and elevated moisture content create favorable conditions for the proliferation of specific pathogens, consequently diminishing the shelf life of the salad. Additional research is necessary to fully grasp the intricacies of the microbiome in salads and to establish protocols that uphold quality standards and ensure the protection of public health.

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Microbiological Status and Quality Traits of Ready-to-Eat Minimally Processed Vegetables Sold in Córdoba, Argentina

Cited by 2 publications

References 7 publications

Microbiological quality assessment of ready to eat vegetables sold in Yankaba Market Kano, Kano State Nigeria

Microbiological quality assessment of ready to eat vegetables sold in Yankaba Market Kano, Kano State Nigeria

Microbial Diversity and Quality of Ready-to-Eat Salad: An Underexplored Area of Local Hotels

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