First report demonstrating the presence of spp. eggs on vegetables grown in community gardens in Europe.

and are zoonotic roundworm parasites of dogs, cats and foxes. These definitive hosts pass eggs in their faeces, which contaminate the environment and can subsequently be ingested via soil or contaminated vegetables. In humans, infection with can have serious health implications. This proof-of-concept study aimed to investigate the presence of spp. eggs on 'ready-to-eat' vegetables (lettuce, spinach, spring onion and celery) sampled from community gardens in southern England. The contamination of vegetables with eggs has never been investigated in the UK before, and more widely, this is the first time vegetables grown in community gardens in Europe have been assessed for egg contamination. Sixteen community gardens participated in the study, providing 82 vegetable samples fit for analysis. Study participants also completed an anonymous questionnaire on observed visits to the sites by definitive hosts of . Comparison of egg recovery methods was performed using lettuce samples spiked with a series of spp. egg concentrations, with sedimentation and centrifugal concentration retrieving the highest number of eggs. A sample (100 g) of each vegetable type obtained from participating community gardens was tested for the presence of eggs using the optimised method. Two lettuce samples tested positive for spp. eggs, giving a prevalence of 2.4% (95% CI =1.3-3.5%) for vegetable samples overall, and 6.5% (95% CI = 4.7-8.3%;  = 31) specifically for lettuce. Questionnaire data revealed that foxes, cats and dogs frequently visited the community gardens in the study, with 88% (68/77) of respondents reporting seeing a definitive host species or the faeces of a definitive host at their site. This proof-of-concept study showed for the first time the presence of spp. eggs on vegetables grown in the UK, as well as within the soil where these vegetables originated, and highlights biosecurity and zoonotic risks in community gardens. This study establishes a method for assessment of spp. eggs on vegetable produce and paves the way for larger-scale investigations of spp. egg contamination on field-grown vegetables.