Abstract
Tests of Jarjeer/rocket (Eruca sativa L.) salad greens after multiple washings in water and mild disinfectant revealed a significant number of sequestered total coliforms and E. coli remained in the fresh greens. Presumptive tests of 64 locally purchased fresh jarjeer greens resulted in finding 100% of the samples were contaminated by coliforms and E. coli. Jarjeer greens had 2,509,273 CFU/g and 224,250 E. coli/g when washed once. Washing the greens three times reduced the number of CFU by 95% and E. coli by 83%, but E. coli counts remained high 9,741 / g or 292,230 per 30 g normally eaten portion. After macerating the thrice washed jarjeer the number of CFU increased to 2,129,774 / g and E. coli 56,292/g, which indicated the bacteria are sequestered in the leaves and could not be washed off. Disinfection with diluted chlorine bleach reduced CFU by 68% and E. coli by 84%, but upon maceration CFUs increased from 42,059/g to 833,812/g and E. coli from 5/g to 2,150/g, which indicates washing with a disinfectant cannot rid the greens of coliforms. Counts on parsley and lettuce were significantly lower than on jarjeer. Results indicate there is sequestered fecal contamination of fresh jarjeer salad greens that remained on and inside epidermal cells even after multiple washings. These data show that there is probably a persistent health threat when eating these fresh salad greens, but further testing for the presence of Salmonella and other pathogens is required.
Highlights
The mustard salad greens (Eruca sativa L.), which are grown on United Arab Emirates (UAE) produce farms, are called “jarjeer” or “jarjir” in Arabic and “rocket” in English or “roquette”in French, are a favorite and popular part of the traditional Arab meal (Figure 1)
IDEXX results from the first wash of the remaining 18 samples showed an average of 1,810,977 Colony Forming Units (CFU)/g and 224,250 E. coli/g jarjeer (Tables 1 & 2) and represents a conservative estimate of the bacteria removed from the greens when washed only once
Every store sample showed the same clear and obvious trend from being initially highly contaminated, to having a significant drop in bacteria after three washes and a significant increase in bacteria after maceration (Fig. 1 & 2). These tests showed that jarjeer greens were always highly contaminated with coliforms and E. coli
Summary
The mustard salad greens (Eruca sativa L.), which are grown on United Arab Emirates (UAE) produce farms, are called “jarjeer” or “jarjir” in Arabic and “rocket” in English or “roquette”in French, are a favorite and popular part of the traditional Arab meal (Figure 1). These greens were tested for total coliforms and compared to parsley and romaine lettuce from local stores. The U.S Food and Drug Administration has not determined what a safe level of coliforms or E. coli could be on vegetables, but it should be very low considering that a 10 cell dose could initiate an infection and cause a serious illness, especially in children (Lynch, et al 2006). The purpose of this paper is to present the results of systematically tested, locally grown Eruca sativa “jarjeer”, for the presence and numbers of coliforms and E
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