Harnessing the microbiota of vegetables and ready-to-eat (RTE) vegetables for quality and safety

Abstract

The microbiota of vegetables and Ready-to-Eat (RTE) vegetable salads can have significant implications for quality and safety. Some microbial groups occurring on vegetables can cause foodborne illnesses, while others can potentially influence the shelf life of vegetables and vegetable salad products. The comprehensive assessment of the microbial structure and diversity of vegetables requires sensitive detection and characterization techniques, and this review discusses some of the strengths and limitations of conventional culture dependent approaches and the promise of some contemporary microbial detection/characterization approaches. Some bacterial groups recovered from vegetables have exhibited resistance to important antibiotics and without adequate safeguards, consumption of vegetables and salad products can potentially contribute to the spread and burden of antibiotic resistance. Studies summarised herein indicate that bacterial groups including Pseudomonas, Erwinia, and Lactic Acid Bacteria which contain common spoilage species are predominant in vegetables. Some possible sources of these bacteria to vegetables include agricultural input and post-harvest handling. Viruses and fungi contribute significantly to shaping microbiota of vegetables but also contain some species that are relevant for public health safety and vegetable shelf-life. Inspite of the relevance of these groups on the phylloshpere of vegetables, there is a comparative dearth of data on the incidence and prevalence of fungal and viral groups on vegetablesComprehensive understanding of the microbial profile of vegetables offers a more accurate assessment of potential food safety, and spoilage risks, and studies should aim to assess the total microbiome of vegetables and vegetable salads.

Keywords: Antibiotic resistance; Enterobacteriaceae; Food safety; Ready-to eat vegetable salads; Shelf-life; Vegetables.