Abstract

GINESTRE PEREZ, Messaria et al. Enteric indicators in fresh vegetables sold at popular food markets in Maracaibo. Rev. Soc. Ven. Microbiol. [online]. 2009, vol.29, n.1, pp.52-56. ISSN 1315-2556.

The microbiological status of 300 vegetables (100 lettuces, 100 corianders, and 100 parsley) from two food markets in Maracaibo city was analyzed. Total coliforms (TC), fecal coliforms (FC) and Escherichia coli were determined by the most probable number technique. TC oscillated between 10³-10⁹ MPN/gr in over 80% of the lettuces bought at both markets, while FC oscillated between 10-10⁷ MPN/gr in 90% of the samples from Market 2. In 96% of the corianders, TC varied between 10⁴-10⁹ MPN/gr, and FC varied between 10⁴-10⁹ in 86% and 84% of the samples from Markets 1 and 2 respectively. In parsley, TC oscillated between 10⁴-10⁹ in 90% or more of the total samples, and FC varied between 10³-10⁹ in 82% and 60% of the samples from Market 1 and 2 respectively. In 52% of the parsley samples obtained from Market 1 there were high E. coli counts (10⁴-10⁷ MPN/gr). According to the microbiological criteria for E. coli, 84.7% of the vegetables were satisfactory and 15.3% non satisfactory. Due to the variability of the coliform levels in fresh vegetables, it is advisable to establish local norms to evaluate the microbiological quality of this food

Keywords : Escherichia coli; microbiological quality; fecal coliforms; fresh vegetables.