A study by German researchers has raised concerns on the microbiological quality of ready-to-eat salad mixes and fresh sprouts.
The three-year research project by the Max Rubner Institute also found the microbiological quality of cucumbers, carrots and mushrooms was good. Mixed lettuce received a good to medium result and herbs were rated as medium.
The focus was on Listeria, Salmonella, E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus.
Researchers said the microbiological quality of ready-to-eat (RTE) mixed salads was “inadequate” as 7 of 116 samples, or 6 percent, were contaminated with human pathogenic bacteria. This figure was 2.5 percent for lettuce, 1.3 percent for carrots, 1.2 percent for mushrooms, 1.1 percent for sprouts and zero for herbs and cucumbers.
The team sampled a total of 600 products sold in northern and southern Germany including 115 samples of herbs, 40 cucumbers, 79 carrots, 80 types of lettuce, 116 RTE salads, 81 edible mushrooms, and 89 samples of sprouts in the project from 2015 to 2018.
FoodWorld 