Bhullar Manreet, Perry Bridget, Monge Ana, Nabwiire Lillian, Shaw Angela
Department of Horticulture and Natural Resources, Food Science Institute, Kansas State University, Olathe, KS 66061, USA.
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
Foods. 2021 Jun 16;10(6):1390. doi: 10.3390/foods10061390.
A number of foodborne outbreaks have occurred in the past decade, with higher incidences associated with romaine lettuce and strawberries. Contaminated agricultural water has been reported as the source of microbial contamination in most of these outbreaks. Maintaining the adequate and sanitary quality (0 /100 mL) of agricultural water can be challenging during post-harvest operations such as washing. The study focused on the attachment of generic (Rifampicin resistant) onto romaine lettuce and strawberries, mimicking the produce wash step. The produce was washed with contaminated water, air-dried, and stored in display units for 7 days. The produce was sampled randomly each day and analyzed for the surviving count. The results indicated that can survive in both lettuce and strawberries over extended periods. A survival population of 2.3 log CFU/cm (day 8) was observed on lettuce with an initial population of 2.8 log CFU/cm (day 0). On strawberries, the population reduced from 3.0 (day 0) to 1.7 log CFU/cm (day 7), with an initial concentration of approx. 6 log CFU/mL in the wash water. Strawberry leaves had a higher attachment of than the fruit ( < 0.05). In conclusion, romaine lettuce and strawberries washed with contaminated water can cause an outbreak affecting consumers and public health.
在过去十年中发生了多起食源性疾病暴发事件，其中与长叶生菜和草莓相关的发病率较高。据报道，受污染的农业用水是这些暴发事件中大多数微生物污染的源头。在诸如清洗等收获后操作过程中，保持农业用水的充足且卫生质量（0/100毫升）可能具有挑战性。该研究聚焦于模拟农产品清洗步骤，将通用型（耐利福平型）[此处原文缺失具体微生物名称]附着在长叶生菜和草莓上。农产品用受污染的水清洗、风干，并在展示单元中储存7天。每天随机对农产品进行采样，并分析存活菌数。结果表明，[此处原文缺失具体微生物名称]能够在生菜和草莓中长时间存活。在生菜上观察到，初始菌数为2.8 log CFU/平方厘米（第0天），第8天存活菌数为2.3 log CFU/平方厘米。在草莓上，菌数从3.0（第0天）降至1.7 log CFU/平方厘米（第7天），清洗水中初始浓度约为6 log CFU/毫升。草莓叶上的[此处原文缺失具体微生物名称]附着量高于果实（P<0.05）。总之，用受污染的水清洗的长叶生菜和草莓可能引发影响消费者和公众健康的疾病暴发。
