A Microbiological Survey of Selected Alberta-Grown Fresh Produce from Farmers' Markets in Alberta, Canada

Bohaychuk, Valerie; Bradbury, Ray; Dimock, R.; Fehr, Mark; Gensler, Gary; King, Robin; Rieve, R.; Barrios, Pablo Romero

doi:10.4315/0362-028x-72.2.415

Cited by 115 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…E. coli used to be more isolated in endives than in tomatoes and ready-to-eat products. This is in phase with Bohaychuk et al (2009) who have revealed a load of 0.48 log CFU/g in minimally processed vegetables and a load of 2 log CFU/g in raw vegetables. P. aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen of humans responsible of most of the nosocomial infections (Todar, 2002).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Microbiological quality of raw vegetables and ready to eat products sold in Abidjan (Cte dIvoire) markets

Julien¹,

Agbo²,

Dadié³

et al. 2017

Afr. J. Microbiol. Res.

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Vegetables are usually consumed raw. This implied best hygienic conditions from the harvest to the processing because of the gastro-enteritis that they could provoke. This study was conducted with the aim to appreciate microbiological quality of raw tomatoes, endives and ready-to-eat products sold in markets. Samples were taken randomly in two markets of Abidjan. A microbiological analysis was done in order to identify and enumerate faecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus and Pseudomonas. A decontamination treatment based on washing samples with running water and sodium hypochlorite solution I° chlorymetric was also applied to tomatoes and endives. The results indicated that, for tomatoes and endives, the average load was 1.5.10 4 CFU/g of Enterococcus, 1.3.10 3 CFU/g of Pseudomonas and 1.7.10 2 CFU/g of faecal coliforms. In ready-to-eat products, the load was 9.3.10 1 CFU/g for Enterococcus, l.03.10 1 CFU/g for Pseudomonas and 9.9.10 1 CFU/g for faecal coliforms. The disinfection with a sodium hypochlorite solution l° chlorymetric reduced Enterococcus and faecal coliforms load to 98% and Pseudomonas load to 97% as compared to the washing with running water in which Enterococcus was only reduced to 80%, faecal coliforms to78% and Pseudomonas to 73%. Escherichia coli were isolated in 28 samples as follow: 15 stumps from endives (54%), 10 stumps from tomatoes (36%) and 3 stumps from ready-to-eat products (10%). Results showed that before consumption, vegetables need to be washed, cleaned and disinfected. This will avoid sanitary hazard.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Microbiological quality of raw vegetables and ready to eat products sold in Abidjan (Cte dIvoire) markets

Julien¹,

Agbo²,

Dadié³

et al. 2017

Afr. J. Microbiol. Res.

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“…Additionally, vegetables were harvested directly from farms, so no additional contamination occurred during vegetable processing. In recent reports, no Salmonella, L. monocytogenes, or E. coli O157:H7 were detected in lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, green onions, strawberries, sesame leaf, dropwort, Chinese cabbage, Korean leek, crown daisy, and chicory from markets or farms in Japan 14) , Canada 18) , and Korea 5,16) . The microbiological quality of fresh produce is a concern not only from a food safety perspective, but also because of losses due to the shorter product shelf-life.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…These findings are consistent with the results of Sant'Ana et al 6) , who reported a 2.7% E. coli contamination rate in minimally processed vegetables at retail stores. However, a 2009 Alberta, Canada study found that 8.2% of fresh produce, including lettuce, spinach, carrots, and green onions were positive for E. coli 18) , and E. coli was detected in 12.5 and 22.2% of conventional and organic lettuce, respectively 15) . In Korea, E. coli was isolated in 2.8% (ranging from 3.1-19.1%) of vegetables and fruits 4) , which was higher than our results.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Vegetable crops produced in a natural environment cannot be expected to remain free from microbial agents, and the stages of fresh-cut-product processing, such as handling, cutting, shredding, slicing, and grating, are all potential sources of contamination that could further increase the microbial load 19) . Outbreaks of foodborne illnesses related to consumption of fresh produce have been documented by many authors 2,6,14,18) . In the present study, we also evaluated the prevalence of common foodborne pathogens that have been associated with vegetables using double-check systems, such as media culture systems and commercial immunoassay kits.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessment of the Microbiological Quality of Vegetable from Urban Community Gardens in Korea

Kim¹,

Choi²,

Na³

et al. 2014

Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety

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-Many community gardens in large cities worldwide grow vegetables; however, no information regarding the levels of sanitary indicator bacteria and prevalence of foodborne pathogens in vegetables grown in urban community gardens is available. To evaluate the microbiological quality of vegetables from urban community gardens in Korea, 530 samples (nine types of vegetable, including Chinese cabbage, lettuce, radish leaves, spinach, mustard leaves, crown daisy, leek, Korean cabbage, and chicory) were collected at 11 urban community gardens in Seoul, Korea from September through October 2012. The levels of total aerobic bacteria, Escherichia coli, total coliforms, Salmonella spp. Listeria monocytogenes, and E. coli O157:H7 were evaluated quantitatively and/or qualitatively. The mean numbers of total aerobic bacteria and coliforms were 6.3 log CFU/g (range 3.8-8.1 log CFU/g) and 4.3 log CFU/g (range 2.1-6.4 log CFU/g), respectively. Total coliforms were detected on 67% of whole vegetables. Chicory showed the highest number of total aerobic bacteria and coliforms, whereas the lowest number of coliforms was detected on leeks. E. coli was detected on 2.3% of whole vegetables, including lettuce, radish leaves, mustard leaves, and chicory; however, foodborne pathogenic bacteria were not detected on any of the vegetable samples using this highly sensitive and validated procedure. Based on these findings, the presence of coliforms and E. coli demonstrates that opportunity for improvement of microbiological safety exists throughout the produce production chain, although no major foodborne pathogens were present in vegetables grown in urban community gardens.

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“…Although numerous studies have evaluated farm-related factors influencing the microbial contamination of produce (5,6,(11)(12)(13)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22), only a limited number of studies (16,17,23) examined the bacterial count on produce as affected by risk factors other than the farming type (e.g., organic or conventional farm) (5,12,(18)(19)(20). Surprisingly, to our knowledge, no study has systematically assessed the impact of farm-related factors, including management practices, environment, landscape, and weather factors, on the bacterial count on produce.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Multifactorial Effects of Ambient Temperature, Precipitation, Farm Management, and Environmental Factors Determine the Level of Generic Escherichia coli Contamination on Preharvested Spinach

Park

Navratil

Gregory³

et al. 2015

Appl Environ Microbiol

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A repeated cross-sectional study was conducted to identify farm management, environment, weather, and landscape factors that predict the count of generic Escherichia coli on spinach at the preharvest level. E. coli was enumerated for 955 spinach samples collected on 12 farms in Texas and Colorado between 2010 and 2012. Farm management and environmental characteristics were surveyed using a questionnaire. Weather and landscape data were obtained from National Resources Information databases. A two-part mixed-effect negative binomial hurdle model, consisting of a logistic and zero-truncated negative binomial part with farm and date as random effects, was used to identify factors affecting E. coli counts on spinach. Results indicated that the odds of a contamination event (non-zero versus zero counts) vary by state (odds ratio [OR] ‫؍‬ 108.1). Odds of contamination decreased with implementation of hygiene practices (OR ‫؍‬ 0.06) and increased with an increasing average precipitation amount (mm) in the past 29 days (OR ‫؍‬ 3.5) and the application of manure (OR ‫؍‬ 52.2). On contaminated spinach, E. coli counts increased with the average precipitation amount over the past 29 days. The relationship between E. coli count and the average maximum daily temperature over the 9 days prior to sampling followed a quadratic function with the highest bacterial count at around 24°C. These findings indicate that the odds of a contamination event in spinach are determined by farm management, environment, and weather factors. However, once the contamination event has occurred, the count of E. coli on spinach is determined by weather only. Foodborne disease outbreaks associated with produce impose a considerable public health burden (1). Among different produce commodities, leafy green vegetables have been identified as a group of high concern from a microbiological safety perspective due to their being implicated in multiple outbreaks of foodborne disease with high numbers of illnesses worldwide (2). Indeed, leafy green vegetables are commonly grown in open farm fields, where they may be exposed to microbial contamination from soil, manure fertilizer, irrigation water, and intrusions of wild or domestic animals, and they are likely to be consumed fresh or minimally processed. Enteric foodborne pathogens, such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7, have been the main causative agents responsible for foodborne outbreaks associated with leafy green vegetables in the United States (3). These pathogens are spread in the environment through feces of infected animals and humans (4). While contamination of leafy greens with these foodborne pathogens has major consequences (2), fortunately it occurs at a low frequency (5, 6). The low frequency and heterogeneous distribution of these pathogens in the produce field make their detection difficult, costly, and time-consuming. Instead indicator organisms are routinely used by the industry, environmental agencies, and public health organizations to verify effective implementation of good ag...

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A Microbiological Survey of Selected Alberta-Grown Fresh Produce from Farmers' Markets in Alberta, Canada

Cited by 115 publications

References 20 publications

Microbiological quality of raw vegetables and ready to eat products sold in Abidjan (Cte dIvoire) markets

Microbiological quality of raw vegetables and ready to eat products sold in Abidjan (Cte dIvoire) markets

Assessment of the Microbiological Quality of Vegetable from Urban Community Gardens in Korea

Multifactorial Effects of Ambient Temperature, Precipitation, Farm Management, and Environmental Factors Determine the Level of Generic Escherichia coli Contamination on Preharvested Spinach

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