Some microbial health risks caused by fresh produce

Salad vegetables and fresh produce serve as an extraordinary dietary source of nutrient, phytonutrient, vitamins and fibre for humans and this is vital for health and well-being. Inspite of their great nutritional value, they can be the source of foodborne outbreaks by transfering dangerous pathogens to human since they are consumed as raw or after minimal processing. Fresh produce may become contaminated at any point along the farm-to-table continuum, including preharvest and postharvest handling and processing. Once the contamination occurs it is almost impossible to eliminate pathogens by sanitising salad vegetables and green produce although conventional surface sanitation methods can reduce the microbial load. This study was carried out to determine the bacteriological load and quality of some raw eaten salad vegetables and the salad prepared from them, in one of the catering companies in Izmir-Turkey. For this purpose, 10 samples from each points of processing examined and irrigating water, the mix of the vegetables and last product were analyzed for TVC, Staphylococcus aureus, total coliforms and Escherichia coli in the laboratory of Food Hygen and Technology Department in Veterinary Faculty of Adnan Menderes University between 1st September 2015 and 30th November 2015. Most Probable Number Technique were used for enumeration of total coliform bacteria while Plate Count Agar were used for enumeration of TVC. IMVIC testes were applied for the differentiation of E. coli. S. aureus colonies were identified by gram staining, DNaz, mannitol fermentation, tube coagulase and catalase tests and verified by Dry Spot Staphytect Plus Test Kit (Oxoid DR0100). Data was analised, using SPSS 22.0 statistical software at the end of the study. The results indicated that significant decrease occured on bacteriological load after washing and sanitising steps of the process. It was also observed that practises such as peeling, slicing, trimming, draining and handling increased the load probably due to cross contamination. TVC count was 5.36±0.19 log cfu/g, total coliform was 4.72±0.12 log cfu/g and S. aureus count was 2.67±0.61 log cfu/g in the serviced salad. Besides, 3 of the salad samples contained E.coli. The study showed that the hygenic level of premises and cleaning/sanitising applications could cause important hazardous.