Bacterial quality and safety of packaged fresh leafy vegetables at the retail level in Finland

- Important label information was missing on packaged leafy vegetables.
- O2 and CO2 concentrations in the packages varied widely.
- Aerobic and coliform bacteria counts were high.
- Escherichia coli, Yersinia and Listeria were isolated from several products.
- Ready-to-eat products not needing washing before use were contaminated with pathogens.

Consumption of packaged fresh leafy vegetables, which are convenient ready-to-eat products, has increased during the last decade. The number of foodborne outbreaks associated with these products has concurrently increased. In our study, (1) label information, (2) O2/CO2 composition, (3) bacterial quality and (4) safety of 100 fresh leafy vegetables at the retail level were studied in Finland during 2013. Bacterial quality was studied using aerobic bacteria (AB) and coliform bacteria (CB) counts, and searching for the presence of Escherichia coli, Listeria and Yersinia. The safety was studied by the presence of Salmonella, ail-positive Yersinia, stx-positive E. coli (STEC) and Listeria monocytogenes using PCR and culturing. Important label information was unavailable on several packages originating from different companies. The packaging date was missing on all packages and the date of durability on 83% of the packages. Storage temperature was declared on 62% of the packages and 73% of the packages contained information about prewashing. The batch/lot number was missing on 29% of the packages. Very low oxygen (O2) (< 1%) and elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) (2-22%) concentrations were measured in all packages labelled to contain a protective atmosphere. O2 and CO2 concentrations varied widely in the rest of the packages. AB and CB counts were high in the leafy vegetable samples varying between 6.2 and 10.6 and 4.2-8.3 log cfu/g, respectively. In most of the samples, the AB and CB counts exceeded 108 and 106 cfu/g, respectively. A positive correlation was observed between the AB and CB counts. E. coli was isolated from 15% of the samples and Yersinia from 33%. L. monocytogenes was isolated from two samples and ail-positive Y. enterocolitica in one. Using PCR, STEC was detected in seven samples, and Salmonella and ail-positive Y. enterocolitica in two samples each. The AB and CB mean values of products originating from different companies varied widely. High AB and CB counts and pathogenic bacteria were detected in ready-to-eat products not needing washing before use. Our study shows that the bacterial quality and safety of packaged fresh leafy vegetables is poor and label information on the packages is inadequate. More studies are needed concerning the impact of a protective atmosphere on bacterial growth, and the impact of washing for removing bacteria.