title: Prevalence and quantification of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in raw salad vegetables at retail level.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the biosafety of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in raw salad vegetables at wet market and supermarket in Malaysia. A combination of Most Probable Number - Polymerase Chain Reaction (MPN-PCR) method was applied to detect the presence of V. parahaemolyticus and to enumerate their density in the food samples. The study analyzed 276 samples of common vegetables eaten raw in Malaysia (Wild cosmos = 8; Japanese parsley = 21; Cabbage = 30; Lettuce = 16; Indian pennywort = 17; Carrot = 31; Sweet potato = 29; Tomato = 38; Cucumber = 28; Four winged bean = 26; Long bean = 32). The samples were purchased from two supermarkets (A and B) and two wet markets (C and D). The occurrence of V. parahaemolyticus detected was 20.65%, with higher frequency of V. parahaemolyticus in vegetables obtained from wet markets (Wet market C = 27.27%Wet Market D = 32.05%) compared to supermarkets (Supermarket A = 1.64%; Supermarket B = 16.67%). V. parahaemolyticus was most prevalent in Indian pennywort (41.18%). The density of V. parahaemolyticus in all the samples ranged from <3 up to >2400 MPN/g, mostly <3 MPN/g concentration. Raw vegetables from wet markets contained higher levels of V. parahaemolyticus compared to supermarkets. V. parahaemolyticus were present in raw vegetables although in low numbers. The results suggest that raw vegetables act as a transmission route for V. parahaemolyticus. This study will be the first biosafety assessment of V. parahaemolyticus in raw vegetables in Malaysia.
authors.affiliation: Center of Excellence for Food Safety Research, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. tunungrobin@gmail.com
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tunung
authors.forename: Selina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Margaret
authors.forename: Ponniah
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jeyaletchumi
authors.forename: Lay C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Chai
authors.forename: Tuan C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Tuan Zainazor
authors.forename: Farinazleen M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Ghazali
authors.forename: Yoshitsugu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakaguchi
authors.forename: Mitsuaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishibuchi
authors.forename: Radu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Son
mesh_terms: D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D014675:Vegetables / Q000382:microbiology*; D014736:Vibrio parahaemolyticus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*