Monitoring of vegetables commercially sold in Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil

The ingestion of raw vegetables represents an important means of transmission of several infectious diseases. The objective of the present study was to perform a microbiological and parasitological evaluation of the vegetables commercially sold in the municipality of Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. Of a total of 172 commercial concerns analyzed, 115 (67%) presented irregularities in the vegetables they sold, such as elevated concentration of fecal coliforms in 63%, presence of Salmonella in 9%, and presence of enteroparasites in 33%. The commercial concerns with the highest frequencies of vegetables showing inadequate results were: grocery stores (92%), CEAGESP (75%), fruit and vegetables stores (71%), traveling vendors (71%), fairs (69%), supermarkets (52%), and vegetable gardens (18%). The type of contamination was uniformly distributed among these commercial concerns. Most of the contaminated vegetables (61%) were from gardens located in the municipality of Ribeirão Preto. Considering the high frequency of fecal contamination and the potential risk of disease transmitted by vegetables, we suggest greater enforcement in the sanitary surveillance of the food offered to the population.

Lettuce; Vegetable; Fecal coliforms; Salmonella; Cysticercosis