Protozoan parasites and free-living amoebae contamination in organic leafy green vegetables and strawberries from Spain.

In this study, the presence of spp., sp., spp., sp., and was assessed in organic leafy green vegetables (lettuce, spinach, cabbage) and fruits (strawberry), which are usually consumed raw. A total of 110 organic samples were collected in Valencia (Spain). Protozoa were concentrated before detection by immunofluorescence ( spp. and sp.) or real-time qPCR ( spp., sp., , , and ). The most abundant protozoa in organic vegetables and berry fruits were (65.5%), followed by (37.2%), (17.3%), (12.7%), spp. (6.8%), sp. (1.8%) and sp. (1.7%). was not found in any of the organic samples. Thus, results showed that consumers can be exposed to protozoan parasites by consuming organic vegetables and berry fruits. This is the first report in Spain describing the presence of the protozoan pathogens spp., sp., , and , spp. and sp. in organic fresh produce. The results of this research will help determine the risk of foodborne protozoan parasites on organic leafy greens and strawberries that are available at local markets.