Work

Isolation of fecal Escherichia coli from fresh strawberries (fragaria ananassa) in Iran

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: Background and Objectives: (FEC) contamination of fresh strawberries of south of Kerman province where is the centers of production and supply of strawberries to other parts of Iran. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, the FEC of a total number of 109 strawberry samples, which were collected from green-houses of strawberry of Kerman province during three months, were enumerated using the most probable number (MPN) as described by Iranian National Standards Organization, protocol No.2946, and interpreted using the latest statute released by Iran Veterinary Organization, Executive order number 2946, released in 2011. Results: MPN of FEC counted in strawberries ranged between <0.3 (n=37) and >110 (n=19) per gram (g) having a mean, mode, and median value of 250.3, <0.3, and 9.4 MPN/g, respectively. More than one-fourth of the samples (28.44%) were polluted with FEC at a level of >100 MPN/g. Conclusion: Our findings may be resulted from the sanitary quality of the farm and strawberries of the study area, which indicated that the microbial safety of the strawberries in this survey was not satisfactory, alarming public health.

Source: Iranian Journal of Microbiology

DOI: 10.18502/ijm.v14i5.10963

Authors: Nasrin Hamidian, Saeed Salari, Ahmad Rashki, Mohsen Najimi

Institution: Zabol University

Language: English

Topic: Food Safety and Hygiene

Subfield: Food Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDGs: Zero hunger, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: diamond

Funder: University of Zabol