Bacterial and parasitic contamination of raw vegetable: potential risk for food-borne diseases

Food-borne diseases can be transmitted through raw vegetables contaminated with bacteria and intestinal parasites. The study aimed to determine bacteria and intestinal parasites that contaminate raw vegetables in traditional markets. In this study, we collected raw vegetables from eight traditional markets. We chose randomly at each market five samples of vegetables that usually consumed in raw, like lettuce, tomato, cabbage, basil, long bean, and cucumber. The bacteria were identified by culture and microbiological test and the intestinal parasites were identified using sedimentation and floatation methods. This study showed that all of raw vegetables were contaminated with Escherichia coli (E. coli) (91%), Staphylococcus aureus (84%), and Vibrio cholera (79%). Besides bacteria, 36% of samples were contaminated by soil-transmitted helminths (STH), and intestinal protozoa contaminated 27% of samples. Lettuce was the most contaminated vegetable with bacteria and intestinal parasites. The results of this study proved that there was bacterial contamination as well as intestinal parasites in raw vegetables sold in traditional markets which could be a source of spread of food-borne diseases. Therefore, handling raw vegetables properly is needed as an effort to prevent it.