Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2021
Commercial wash of leafy vegetables do not significantly decrease bacterial load but leads to shifts in bacterial species composition
Rosberg, Anna Karin; Darlison, Julia; Mogren, Lars; Alsanius, BeatrixAbstract
Production of leafy vegetables for the "Ready-to-eat"-market has vastly increased the last 20 years, and consumption of these minimally processed vegetables has led to outbreaks of food-borne diseases. Contamination of leafy vegetables can occur throughout the production chain, and therefore washing of the produce has become a standard in commercial processing. This study explores the bacterial communities of spinach (Spinacia oleracea) and rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia) in a commercial setting in order to identify potential contamination events, and to investigate effects on bacterial load by commercial processing. Samples were taken in field, after washing of the produce and at the end of shelf-life. This study found that the bacterial community composition and diversity changed significantly from the first harvest to the end of shelf-life, where the core microbiome from the first to the last sampling constituted <2% of all OTUs. While washing of the produce had no reducing effect on bacterial load compared to unwashed, washing led to a change in species composition. As the leaves entered the cold chain after harvest, a rise was seen in the relative abundance of spoilage bacteria. E. coli was detected after the washing indicating issues of cross-contamination in the wash water.Keywords
microbiome; minimally processed leafy vegetables; Phyllosphere spinach (Spinacia oleracea); Rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia)Published in
Food Microbiology2021, volume: 94, article number: 103667
Authors' information
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Biosystems and Technology
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Biosystems and Technology
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Biosystems and Technology
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Biosystems and Technology
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG3 Good health and wellbeing
UKÄ Subject classification
Horticulture
Microbiology
Publication Identifiers
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fm.2020.103667
URI (permanent link to this page)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/109218