How Safe are Vegetables: Parasitological Contamination of Fresh Leafy Vegetables in Mangalore.

Introduction: Parasitic diseases are the leading causes of death and disease especially in developing tropical countries like India. One of the major modes of transmission of parasites to humans is via consumption of Vegetables. They normally become a potential source by contamination, during production, collection, transport and preparation or during processing and the sources of contamination are usually faeces, faecally contaminated soil or water. Objectives: To know the presence of parasites fresh leafy vegetables from various wholesale and retail markets and road side vendors sellers in Mangalore. Materials and Methods: In a prospective study a total of 100 green leafy vegetables samples composed of green and red spinach, coriander, mint, fenugreek, drumstick leaves and casia tora were purchased from local markets and examined for the presence of parasites and results were analysed. Results: Out of 100 samples 42 were contaminated with parasites.Mint and red spinach showed the highest contamination of 60.86% and 53.84% respectively. Drumstick leaves and casia tora did not show any contamination. Green and red spinach were contaminated with giardia and trichomonas. Conclusion: Results of the present study concludes that green leafy vegetables act as a vehicle of transmission. The Mangalore cuisine being one that incorporates a high amount of the vegetables in daily meals makes the population more susceptible to parasitic infiltration.