Microbiological safety of ready-to-eat minimally processed vegetables in Brazil: an overview

Autor(es)

Sant'Anna, Pedro B. ^[1] ; de Melo Franco, Bernadette D. G. ^{[2, 3]} ; Maffei, Daniele F. ^{[3, 4]}

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Luiz de Queiroz Coll Agr, Dept Biol Sci, Piracicaba - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Pharmaceut Sci, Dept Food & Expt Nutr, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Food Res Ctr FoRC CEPID, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Luiz de Queiroz Coll Agr, Dept Agri Food Ind Food & Nutr, Ave Padua Dias 11, CP9, Piracicaba 13418900, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo de Revisão
• Fonte: Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture; v. 100, n. 13 MAY 2020.
• Citações Web of Science: 3

Resumo

The market of ready-to-eat minimally processed vegetables (RTE-MPV) is increasing in Brazil and many other countries. During processing, these vegetables go through several steps that modify their natural structure while maintaining the same nutritional and sensory attributes as the fresh produce. One of the most important steps is washing-disinfection, which aims to reduce the microbial load, prevent cross-contamination and inactivate pathogenic microorganisms that may be present. Nonetheless, the presence of pathogens and occurrence of foodborne illnesses associated with consumption of RTE-MPV concern consumers, governments and the food industry. This review brings an overview on the microbiological safety of RTE-MPV, focusing on Brazilian findings. Most of the published data are on detection of Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes, indicating that their prevalence may range from 0.4% to 12.5% and from 0.6% to 3.1%, respectively. The presence of these pathogens in fresh produce is unacceptable and risky, mainly in RTE-MPV, because consumers expect them to be clean and sanitized and consequently safe for consumption without any additional care. Therefore, proper control during the production of RTE-MPV is mandatory to guarantee products with quality and safety to consumers. (c) 2020 Society of Chemical Industry (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 13/07914-8 - FoRC - Centro de Pesquisa em Alimentos
• Beneficiário: Bernadette Dora Gombossy de Melo Franco
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Centros de Pesquisa, Inovação e Difusão - CEPIDs