title: Prevalence and concentration of bacterial pathogens in raw produce and minimally processed packaged salads produced in and for the Netherlands.
abstract: Recent outbreaks with vegetable or fruits as vehicles have raised interest in the characterization of the public health risk due to microbial contamination of these commodities. Because qualitative and quantitative data regarding prevalence and concentration of various microbes are lacking, we conducted a survey to estimate the prevalence and contamination level of raw produce and the resulting minimally processed packaged salads as sold in The Netherlands. A dedicated sampling plan accounted for the amount of processed produce in relation to the amount of products, laboratory capacity, and seasonal influences. Over 1,800 samples of produce and over 1,900 samples of ready-to-eat mixed salads were investigated for Salmonella enterica serovars, Campylobacter spp., Escherichia coli O157, and Listeria monocytogenes. The overall prevalence in raw produce varied between 0.11% for E. coli O157 and L. monocytogenes and 0.38% for Salmonella. Prevalence point estimates for specific produce/pathogen combinations ranged for Salmonella from 0.53% in iceberg lettuce to 5.1% in cucumber. For Campylobacter, this ranged from 0.83% in endive to 2.7% in oak tree lettuce. These data will be used to determine the public health risk posed by the consumption of ready-to-eat mixed salads in The Netherlands.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Zoonoses and Environmental Microbiology, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, The Netherlands. lucas.wijnands@rivm.nl.
authors.forename: Lucas M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Wijnands
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Zoonoses and Environmental Microbiology, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ellen H M
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Delfgou-van Asch
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Zoonoses and Environmental Microbiology, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marieke E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Beerepoot-Mensink
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Zoonoses and Environmental Microbiology, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van der Meij-Florijn
authors.affiliation: Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (VWA), P.O. Box 43006, 3540 AA, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ife
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fitz-James
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Zoonoses and Environmental Microbiology, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Frans M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: van Leusden
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Zoonoses and Environmental Microbiology, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Annemarie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pielaat
mesh_terms: D002167:Campylobacter / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009426:Netherlands; D015995:Prevalence; D011634:Public Health; D012475:Salmonella / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014675:Vegetables / Q000382:microbiology*