Journal of Food Quality and Hazards Control
مجله کیفیت و کنترل مخاطرات مواد غذایی
J. Food Qual. Hazards Control
Medical Sciences
http://jfqhc.ssu.ac.ir
1
admin
2345-685X
2345-6825
8
10.29252/jfqhc
14
8888
13
en
jalali
1400
6
1
gregorian
2021
9
1
8
3
online
1
fulltext
en
Microbiological Status and Quality Traits of Ready-to-Eat Minimally Processed Vegetables Sold in Córdoba, Argentina
تخصصي
Special
Original article
Original article
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><strong>Background: </strong>The changes and the availability of processed foods have increased the demand for ready-to-eat foods, such as Minimally Processed Vegetables (MPVs). The purpose of this work was to evaluate the microbiological status and quality traits of the MPVs obtained from retail outlets of Córdoba, Argentina.<br>
<strong>Methods:</strong> Totally, 60 MPVs of 12 brands (30 single-ingredient salads and 30 mixed salad trays) were randomly sampled from different retail outlets of Córdoba, Argentina. The samples were analyzed according to international standards for Total Coliforms (TC), Fecal Coliforms (FC), <em>Escherichia coli</em>,<em> Salmonella </em>spp.,<em> Staphylococcus aureus</em>, and Yeast and Molds (YM). The quality traits (respect to physical and sensory properties) of the MPVs were evaluated. Statistical analyses were performed with InfoStat.<br>
<strong>Results:</strong> All 60 MPV samples were positive for TC, ranging from 1.32 to 3.38 log Most Probable Number (MPN)/g. FC counts ranged from 0.30 to 1.95 log MPN/g. Out of 60 samples, 15 (25%) were positive for <em>E. coli</em>. Three brands of mixed trays were positive for <em>S. aureus</em>. Regarding sensory characteristics, the parameters such as freshness, turgid, normal color, decay, and dehydration were compliance in 42 out of 60 (70%) samples.<br>
<strong>Conclusion:</strong> Some MPVs sampled from Córdoba, Argentina showed low microbiological quality and imperfect quality traits.<br>
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<strong>DOI:</strong> 10.18502/jfqhc.8.3.7198</span></span></div>
Vegetables, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, Fungi, Argentina
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http://jfqhc.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1168-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1
M.L.
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