Microbial Contamination, an Increasing Threat to the Consumption of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables in Today's World.

Microbial Contamination, an Increasing Threat to the Consumption of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables in Today's World. Int J Microbiol. 2020;2020:3029295 Authors: Balali GI, Yar DD, Afua Dela VG, Adjei-Kusi P Abstract Microbes are found all over the globe with some few exceptions, including sterilized surfaces. They include normal flora that is nonpathogenic, which contribute to the larger percentage, and pathogenic species which are few. Hence, the activities of humans cannot be completely separated from microbes. Thus, many pathogenic microbes have found their way into fresh fruits and vegetables which are a great source of a healthy diet for humans. The growing demand for fresh fruits and vegetables has necessitated larger production. The larger production of vegetables within the shortest possible time to meet the growing demand has placed them at a higher risk of contamination with the pathogenic microbes, making the safety of consumers uncertain. Study of sources of contamination and type of pathogenic etiological agents isolated from fresh fruits and vegetables includes Bacillus cereus, Campylobacter jejuni, Clostridium botulinum, E. coli O157: H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Shigella, Staphylococcus, and Vibrio cholera. Several measures have proven to be effective in controlling contamination of microbes and they include the establishment of surveillance systems to monitor the production chain and thoroughly washing v...
Source: International Journal of Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Tags: Int J Microbiol Source Type: research