Occurrence of selected viral, bacterial and protozoan pathogens in fresh juices and smoothies in Prague, Czech Republic

Fresh squeezed juices and smoothies currently enjoy great popularity among consumers. However, data regarding the microbiological safety of these products sold to the public in food outlets are either very limited or missing completely. Within the current study, 80 samples of fresh juices and smoothies collected from food outlets in Prague, Czech Republic, were examined using culture and molecular methods for the presence of selected viral, bacterial and protozoan agents. One fifth of the smoothies and juices collected at food outlets contained Staphylococcus aureus, Yersinia enterocolitica, Cryptosporidium sp. or Giardia lamblia. The number of pathogens in all samples was lower than 50 CFU/g or 10 genome equivalents/g; in most cases pre-enrichment was required for successful culture of bacteria. Mycobacteria, human noroviruses (NoV GI and NoV GII) and adenoviruses were not detected at all. Smoothies and fresh juices are consumed without any further (thermal) treatment. Thus, the presence of pathogenic agents could have a significant impact on consumer health.