Occurrence, diversity and temperature-dependent growth kinetics of Aeromonas spp. in lettuce.

Occurrence, diversity and temperature-dependent growth kinetics of Aeromonas spp. in lettuce. Int J Food Microbiol. 2020 Aug 31;335:108852 Authors: Umutoni N, Jakobsen AN, Mukhatov K, Thomassen GMB, Karlsen H, Mehli L Abstract Bagged, pre-cut and prewashed lettuce products are marketed as ready to eat. This concept poses a food safety concern, due to lack of efficient hurdles to eliminate possible microbial contaminants from the fresh produce and/or the processing itself. Aeromonas spp. are potential foodborne pathogens that are frequently isolated from lettuce. High counts of, e.g., A. hydrophila have been found in retail ready-to-eat (RTE) vegetable salads. The aim of this study was to assess the general microbiological quality, the occurrence and diversity of potential human pathogenic mesophilic Aeromonas spp. of retail RTE lettuce products. Additionally, temperature-dependent growth kinetic parameters of Aerobic Plate Counts (APC) and Aeromonas spp. in one selected RTE lettuce product, rocket lettuce, were quantified by performing storage experiments at 4 °C, 8 °C and 12 °C. The Aeromonas isolates were further characterized regarding pathogenic traits and phylogenetic relationship. The overall hygienic quality of the lettuce products was unsatisfactory, as 60% of the products had an APC level higher than 7.0 log CFU/g. Presumptive Aeromonas spp. were detected in 52% of the samples, levels ranging from approximately 2.0-6.0...
Source: International Journal of Food Microbiology - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: Int J Food Microbiol Source Type: research