title: The microbiological quality of ready-to-eat salads in Turkey: a focus on Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes.
abstract: The microbiological safety of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods is of special concern as they are not exposed to further processing before consumption. In the present study, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. were isolated from 15(6%) and 21(8%) samples respectively out of 261 RTE foods commercialized in Turkey. Escherichia coli was present in 10(4%) samples analyzed. Psychrotrophic aerobic populations >6logCFU/g were found in 36 (14%) of the samples, while total coliforms were detected in 155 (59%) of samples analyzed. All of the Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes isolates tested, exhibited resistance to one or more antimicrobial agents used. For Salmonella spp. isolates, resistance to penicillin (69%), erythromycin (38%), gentamicin (36%), tetracycline (36%) neomycin (33%), ampicillin (33%), amikacin (33%), vancomycin (33%), streptomycin (29%) cefotaxime (9%) and oxacillin (9%) was observed. For L. monocytogenes isolates, resistance to erythromycin (23%) and cephalothin (20%) was evident. The presence of pathogens and the relatively high resistance among the bacteria tested in RTE foods could pose public health and therapeutic problems in consumers. These results indicate the need of implementing hygienic rules in the production chain of RTE foods to ensure microbiological safety and to improve shelf life.
authors.affiliation: Food Hygiene and Technology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey.
authors.forename: Zeki
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gurler
authors.affiliation: Food Hygiene and Technology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sebnem
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pamuk
authors.affiliation: Food Hygiene and Technology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey. Electronic address: yyildirim@erciyes.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Yeliz
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yildirim
authors.affiliation: Food Hygiene and Technology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nurhan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ertas
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology; D005516:Food Microbiology; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D012475:Salmonella / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D014421:Turkey; D014675:Vegetables / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
keywords: Antibiotic resistance; RTE salads; Salmonella spp. Listeria monocytogenes; İndicator microorganisms