Microbiological analysis of fresh produce sold at Florida farmers’ markets

Occurrence of selected viral and bacterial pathogens and microbiological quality of fresh and frozen strawberries sold in Spain

“…However, the TC population does not exceed 2 log 10 CFU/g in 74/152 fresh samples (48.7%). Roth et al (2018) found lower TC levels for berries, with a mean of 0.52 log 10 CFU/g. Conversely, they found significantly higher levels of total coliforms on spinach and leafy greens with similar values to this study (1.60 -2.30 log 10 CFU/g).…”

“…On the other hand, it was seen that the prevalence of total coliforms was statistically higher (P < 0.05) in field samples than those from a supermarket. Results reported by Roth et al (2018) showed that total coliforms were more prevalent and at higher levels on farmers' marketcollected produce (50.8 %) than supermarket-collected samples (34%). Delbeke et al (2015) concluded that the field being a potential vehicle that connects the contaminated irrigation water with the fruit.…”

High prevalence of multidrug resistant Escherichia coli isolated from fresh vegetables sold by selected formal and informal traders in the most densely populated Province of South Africa

“…Enumeration of coliforms, E. coli and Enterobacteriaceae showed similar ranges for the different vegetable types, regardless of the vendor groups where it was purchased (Figure 1). The microbiological quality of fresh produce, mainly leafy greens, sold at different markets have been studied worldwide (Du Plessis et al., 2017; Korir, Parveen, Hashem, & Bowers, 2016; Quansah, Kunadu, Saalia, Díaz‐Pérez, & Chen, 2018; Roth et al., 2018). Leafy greens have previously been prioritized as the highest level of concern in terms of fresh produce safety from a global perspective (WHO, 2008).…”

“…Coliforms enumerated from cucumbers (4.1 log CFU/g) were significantly lower ( P = 0.0003) than the coliforms enumerated from the leafy green vegetables (spinach and lettuce). The fresh produce samples from retailers, street traders, trolley vendors and farmers’ markets collectively had a high prevalence of coliforms (≥90%), compared to the 52.0 to 75.6% coliform prevalence on vegetables from retailers and farmers’ markets in Florida, United States (Roth et al., 2018), and 38.7% prevalence on vegetables from retail stores on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, United States (Korir et al., 2016). Regardless of the vegetable type, Roth et al.…”

“…Surveillance of the microbiological quality of fresh produce at retail level have been reported in various countries (de Oliveira, de Souza, Bergamini, & De Martinis, 2011; Kuan et al., 2017; Li et al., 2017; Roth, Simonne, House, & Ahn, 2018; Ryu, Kim, Kim, Beuchat, & Kim, 2014; Sair, Masud, Ayyaz, & Rafique, 2017; Tango et al., 2018), with increasing numbers being associated with fresh produce resulting in foodborne disease outbreaks (Denis, Zhang, Leroux, Trudel, & Bietlot, 2016). This highlights the need for effective foodborne disease outbreak surveillance and reporting systems in fresh produce supply chains.…”