Assessment of Pathogenic Micro-organisms Associated with Vegetable Salads

Fruits and salads are the healthy sources of nutrients for many people’s regular meals served in restaurants, hotels and in the food points of various educational institutions. However, vegetable salads have been linked with outbreaks in many continents all over the globe, which resulted in several health issues. Reason behind the contamination of salads is primarily the poor hygiene management. Carrot, cucumber, onion, cabbage and tomato samples are most commonly sold salads by street vendors and restaurants and stated as common source of transmission. Aim of this study was to probe the prevalence of most common bacterial strains of the salad samples, which are served in and sold by local street vendors, canteens and restaurants. Present investigation revealed a serious concern of the variable bacterial loads in the salad and vegetable samples. Spreading awareness of the potential health risks were also discussed in the present study, which are associated with poor handling of these salads and vegetables.