Microbial and Pathogenic Contamination of Ready-to-eat Fresh Vegetables in Korea
2011
Bae, Y.M., Chung-Ang University, Ansung, Republic of Korea | Hong, Y.J., Chung-Ang University, Ansung, Republic of Korea | Kang, D.H., Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea | Heu, S.G., National Academy of Agricultural Science, RDA, Suwon, Republic of Korea | Lee, S.Y., Chung-Ang University, Ansung, Republic of Korea
The purpose of this study was to evaluate microbiological contamination of fresh vegetables in Korea. Twenty types of vegetables were tested for total aerobic bacteria, coliforms, Escherichia coli, yeast and mold, and pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Cronobacter sakazakii, Shigella, and Campylobacter. Levels of total aerobic bacteria and coliform on 20 vegetables were between 3.74 and 8.04 log CFU/g, and 0.16 and 5.02 log CFU/g, respectively. The highest contamination levels of total aerobic bacteria were observed on water dropwort, sprouts, mungbean sprout, and ballflower root. There was no significant difference (p greater than 0.05) in microbial contamination levels of total aerobic count, coliform, E. coli, yeast and mold between organic and nonorganic vegetables. When isolation methods using selective agars were applied, L. monocytogenes, B. cereus, Salmonella and Campylobacter were isolated from some fresh vegetable samples. Results of API kit tests showed that L. monocytogenes was identified on Chinese cabbage, cucumber, soybean sprouts, and iceberg lettuce while Salmonella was identified on Korean leek. Furthermore, Campylobacter jejuni was also identified in more than 50 of the 100 samples. However, when positive samples from API kit were tested for real-time PCR or 16S rRNA sequencing method, only B. cereus from perilla leaf, carrot, water dropwort, and sprouts showed positive results. These results indicate that selective agar and API kit detection methods might result in false positive results for some pathogens. Therefore, studies need to improve isolation or confirmation methods for such pathogens.
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