Microbiological Evaluation of Bagged Ready-to-eat Salad

Abstract

Bagged ready-to-eat (RTE) vegetable salads can be contaminated by several microorganisms. Some are pathogenic which may cause food-borne illnesses and disease outbreaks. In the Philippines, no microbial assessment is regularly done for this type of fresh produce. The study was conducted to determine the microbial quality of RTE salads and to compare the microbial qualities of bagged RTE salads from different sampling intervals based on their total microbial counts. Eight bagged RTE salad vegetables were separated from the packed dressing, and twenty-five grams of each sample were homogenized in 1% peptone water. The salad vegetables were tested for the presence of E. coli and & aureus. The salad dressings were tested for total microbial count and Salmonella. All eight vegetable samples were negative for both E. coli and 5. aureus, indicating good quality bagged RTE salad vegetables. All eight salad dressing samples were classified as satisfactory based on total microbial count. The dressings were also found to be negative for Salmonella which indicates acceptable microbial quality dressings. Since the total microbial loads of dressing samples from different sampling intervals during the same day were not found to be significantly different, consumption of the dressings at different times of the day do not pose any microbial hazards. In summary, the bagged RTE salad vegetable and dressing samples were satisfactory.