Microbiological aspect of fresh produces as retailed and consumed in West Java, Indonesia

A total of 50 fresh vegetables typically produced, marketed and consumed by people in West Java, Indonesia were quantitatively analysed for the presence of predominant bacteria including the total aerobic bacteria, Salmonella spp., Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Eschericia coli, coliform bacteria, Shigella spp. and lactic acid bacteria (LAB). The results revealed that the incidence levels of the above mentioned bacteria were highly varied from 8 to 100%. The microbial load of the samples were in the range of 3.65-10.61; 1.30-3.95; 2.00-4.30; 2.30-6.36; 2.30-6.30; 2.30-7.65; 3.65-4.87; and 4.48-7.11 log10 cfu/g for total plate counts, Salmonella spp., B. cereus, S. aureus, E. coli, coliform bacteria, Shigella spp. and LAB, respectively. It was observed that microbial contaminant was quite high especially in thai lemon basil of which the TPC was >9 log10 cfu/g. Furthermore, the incidence level and microbial load in fresh vegetables procured from supermarket/grocery stores and local traditional market was higher in comparison to vegetables collected from packing house operations and homeyard. This could be probably attributed to a longer holding time of the vegetables at supermarket (longer period between harvesting and selling), the lack of cold storage facilities during transportation, a more frequent exposure to the air, as well as a more handling steps to go through such as sorting, grading, trimming which consequently more frequently exposed to the hands. Furthermore, in case of fresh vegetables obtained from local traditional market, this could be contributed from improper sanitation practices, lack of hygiene as well as better facilities during the handling and selling of fresh vegetables. The outcome of this study assumes importance as the information provided here would give a specific boost for producers, food handlers and consumers for considering food safety as a first priority during fresh produces handling. Furthermore, it is also important for hygiene officials to pay attention on what is offered to consumers and specify acceptable handling practices.