ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the contamination status of food-borne pathogens in foods sold in Guangzhou, and find the potential food safety hazards, and to provide a scientific basis for formulating food safety measures. Methods From 2013 to 2018, a total of 5 021 food samples from 15 common diets of residents were collected for monitoring Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Staphylococcus aureus, Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli, Vibrio vulnificus, Salmonella, Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes and Vibrio cholerae. Results Among 5 021 samples, a total of 424 samples were found to carry foodborne pathogens, with a total detection rate of 8.44%. Vibrio parahaemolyticus had the highest detection rate among food-borne pathogens (11.20%), followed by Vibrio vulnificus (9.20%), Bacillus cereus (7.26%), and Staphylococcus aureus (1.72 %), Listeria monocytogenes (1.08%), Escherichia coli (0.86%), and Salmonella (0.48%). Vibrio cholerae was not detected. Among different food categories, the detection rate of aquatic products was the highest, reaching 43.52%, followed by raw aquatic animal food products (16.24%), imported raw livestock and poultry meat (11.11%), foods sold in vendors (10.62%), and baked foods (10.56%). The difference in the detection rate of food-borne pathogens among different foods was statistically significant. Analysis of the detection rate of foods from different sampling locations showed that the highest detection rate was in online shops (22.92%), followed by caterings (12.49%), vendors (11.21%), supermarket (8.995), farmers’ markets (8.59%), and the lowest was retail stores (5.63%). The highest detection rate was found in the third quarter (10.04%), followed by the second quarter (9.81%), and the lowest was in the first quarter (6.43%). Conclusion There was contamination with food-borne pathogens at different degrees in foods sold in Guanghzou. The food safety risk monitoring should be carried out continuously. The prevention and control should be focused on foods with a higher risk of contamination of food-borne pathogens including aquatic animal products, frozen livestock and poultry meat, foods sold in vendors and baked foods.