title: Microbiological survey of raw and ready-to-eat leafy green vegetables marketed in Italy.
abstract: The presence of foodborne pathogens (Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, thermotolerant Campylobacter, Yersinia enterocolitica and norovirus) in fresh leafy (FL) and ready-to-eat (RTE) vegetable products, sampled at random on the Italian market, was investigated to evaluate the level of risk to consumers. Nine regional laboratories, representing 18 of the 20 regions of Italy and in which 97.7% of the country's population resides, were involved in this study. All laboratories used the same sampling procedures and analytical methods. The vegetable samples were screened using validated real-time PCR (RT-PCR) methods and standardized reference ISO culturing methods. The results show that 3.7% of 1372 fresh leafy vegetable products and 1.8% of 1160 "fresh-cut" or "ready-to-eat" (RTE) vegetable retailed in supermarkets or farm markets, were contaminated with one or more foodborne pathogens harmful to human health.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna (IZSLER), Via Bianchi no. 9, 25124 Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Losio
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna (IZSLER), Via Bianchi no. 9, 25124 Brescia, Italy. Electronic address: enrico.pavoni@izsler.it.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pavoni
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale di Lazio e Toscana (IZSLT), via Appia Nuova 1411, 00178 Rome (Capannelle), Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bilei
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna (IZSLER), Via Bianchi no. 9, 25124 Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bertasi
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Via Salute, 2, 80055 Portici (Naples), Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bove
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Via Salute, 2, 80055 Portici (Naples), Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Capuano
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Umbria e delle Marche (IZSUM), Via G. Salvemini, no. 1, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Farneti
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Umbria e delle Marche (IZSUM), Via G. Salvemini, no. 1, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Blasi
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe), Viale dell'Universita', 10-35020 Legnaro (Padua), Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Comin
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia, Via G.Marinuzzi, 3, 90129 Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cardamone
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta (IZSPLV), via Bologna, 148, 10154 Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Decastelli
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Delibato
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale di Lazio e Toscana (IZSLT), via Appia Nuova 1411, 00178 Rome (Capannelle), Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: De Santis
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Di Pasquale
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gattuso
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Puglia e della Basilicata (IZSPB), via Manfredonia, n. 20, 71121 Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Goffredo
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna, Via Duca degli Abruzzi 8, 07100 Sassari, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fadda
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna, Via Duca degli Abruzzi 8, 07100 Sassari, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pisanu
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: De Medici
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D005516:Food Microbiology; D007558:Italy; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014675:Vegetables / Q000382:microbiology*
keywords: Green vegetables; ISO culturing methods; Microbial contamination; Molecular methods