Abstract
The objective of this research was to evaluate the microbial and parasitic contamination in lettuce sold in open markets and supermarkets in the city of Mossoró. For parasitological evaluation, spontaneous sedimentation and flotation methods were applied. For the microbiological part, the Most Probable Number (MPM) of total and thermotolerant coliforms was estimated, as well as the positivity of Salmonella sp. Regarding parasitic analysis it was found that the samples had a total index of 62.5% (45/72) of contamination, 40.3% (29/72) with Ancylostomatidae sp., 29.2% (21/72) with Strongyloides sp., 1.4% (1/72) Ascaris sp., 1.4% (1/72) Entamoeba histolytica/dispar, 1.4% (1/72) Endolemax nana, and 2.8% (2/72) Entamoeba coli. For microbiological analyzes, an index of 100% (12/12) of the samples showed contamination by total coliforms and 25% (3/12) of thermotolerant coliforms, above the maximum value allowed by Brazilian legislation, and absence of Salmonella sp. However, there was no difference in microbial and parasitic contamination between the commercial establishments in this research. Finally, the neglect of the lettuce's hygienic-sanitary conditions by the commercial establishments depicted here is evident, as well as the potential health risk to which the population is exposed.
Highlights
Vegetables and fruits are important components in daily meals because of their nutritional contribution to a balanced, healthy diet Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is one of the most popular and consumed leaf vegetables in brazil (Dantas et al, 2020).it is important for public health because it is consumed fresh
Considering infectious pathogens, bacteria represented 95.9% of the known agents that cause foodborne diseases in Brazil in 2016-2017; Escherichia coli and Salmonella sp. are the main infectious agents found in food products (Ministério da Saúde, 2017; Souza et al, 2020)
Aliquots of 1 mL of 10-1 to 10-3 dilutions of each sample were inoculated in a lauryl sulfate tryptose (LST) broth for presumptive testing, and incubated in water bath at 36±0.5 °C for 48 hours to determine the most probable number (MPN) of total coliforms and thermotolerant coliforms
Summary
Vegetables and fruits are important components in daily meals because of their nutritional contribution to a balanced, healthy diet Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is one of the most popular and consumed leaf vegetables in brazil (Dantas et al, 2020). It is important for public health because it is consumed fresh. Environmental contamination caused by lack of basic sanitation can contribute to the dissemination of foodborne diseases This denotes the social importance of studies on parasites and microorganisms; they can provide information on hygienic-sanitary conditions for production, storage, transport, and handling of foods. The objective of this work was to evaluate the microbiological and parasitological quality of lettuces marketed in Mossoró, state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
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