Zoonotic parasitic organisms on vegetables: Impact of production system characteristics on presence, prevalence on vegetables in northwestern Iran and washing methods for removal.

Fresh vegetables are essential components of a healthy and nutritious diet, but if consumed raw without proper washing and/or disinfection, can be important agents of transmission of enteric pathogens. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of zoonotic parasites on vegetables freshly harvested and "ready to eat" vegetables from greengrocers and markets in northwestern Iran. In addition, the effect of cropping system and season on contamination levels were assessed as well as the efficacy of washing procedures to remove parasites from the vegetables. A total of 2757 samples composed of field (n = 1, 600) and "ready to eat" (n = 1157) vegetables were analyzed. Vegetables included leek, parsley, basil, coriander, savory, mint, lettuce, cabbage, radish, dill, spinach, mushroom, carrot, tomato, cucumber and pumpkin. Normal physiological saline washings from 200 g samples were processed using standard parasitological techniques and examined microscopically. A total of 53.14% of vegetable samples obtained from different fields and 18.23% of "ready to eat" vegetables purchased from greengrocers and markets were contaminated with different parasitic organisms including; Entamoeba coli cysts, Giardia intestinalis cysts, Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts, Fasciola hepatica eggs, Dicrocoelium dendriticum eggs, Taenia spp. eggs, Hymenolepis nana eggs, Ancylostoma spp. eggs, Toxocara cati eggs, Toxocara canis eggs, Strongyloides stercoralis larvae, and Ascaris lumbricoides eggs. In both field and "ready to eat" vegetables, the highest parasitic contamination was observed in lettuce with a rate of 91.1% and 55.44%, respectively. The most common parasitic organism was Fasciola hepatica. A seasonal difference in contamination with parasitic organisms was found for field and "ready to eat" vegetables (P < 0.05). There was a significant difference in the recovery of parasitic organisms depending on the washing method with water and dishwashing liquid being the least effective. Proper washing of vegetables is imperative for a healthy diet as the results of this study showed the presence of zoonotic parasites from field and ready to eat vegetables in Iran.

Análise parasitológica de amostras de salsa (Petroselinum crispum) coletadas em supermercados e feiras livres de Ilhéus e Itabuna - Bahia / Parasitological analysis of parsley samples (Petroselinum crispum) collected on supermarkets and free fairs in Ilhéus and Itabuna - Bahia

A salsa (Petroselinum crispum) que também conhecida como salsa ou salsinha é uma herbácea bastante utilizada in natura, fato que aumenta o risco de infecção por parasitoses intestinais, devido ao grande índice de contaminação destes alimentos, desde o cultivo, manipulação, transporte, estocagem e utilização. Como objetivo, avaliou-se a contaminação de amostras dessa hortaliça por parasitas intestinais, realizando comparação entre as procedências de Ilhéus e Itabuna (Bahia). Foram coletadas quatro amostras em feiras livres e quatro em supermercados de cada cidade no mês de novembro de 2018. Após sua aquisição, a salsa foi acondicionada individualmente em sacos plásticos limpos e devidamente identificados com data e procedência e foi preparada para realizar a técnica de sedimentação espontânea. Foram analisadas quatro lâminas, as quais eram coradas com lugol, em microscópio ótico nos aumentos de 10x e 40x. Das 16 amostras, 31,25% apresentaram resultado negativo, 18,75% foram positivas para Ancylostoma sp., 25% para Ascaridia sp., 18,75% para Strongyloides sp. e 6,25% para Toxocara sp.. Das oito amostras provenientes da cidade de Itabuna-BA, 50% foram positivas para alguma estrutura parasitária, já na cidade de Ilhéus-BA 87,5% das amostras foram positivas para alguma estrutura parasitária. Os resultados ressaltam a importância da Vigilância Sanitária ser mais atuante e punitiva nos estabelecimentos que não mantém uma sanidade alimentar garantindo segurança aos consumidores, além de medidas educativas e higienização eficiente.

Enteroparasites in vegetables marketed in an ancient Brazilian city.

OBJECTIVE: To assess contamination by enteroparasites in raw vegetables consumed in the city of São Mateus, Espírito Santo, Brazil. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Samples of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and parsley (Petrosolium sativum) were collected from six popular establishments, such as supermarkets and street markets. The obtained material was analyzed, after washing, by the spontaneous sedimentation method in the Clinical Analysis Laboratory of the Federal University of Espírito Santo, São Mateus Campus. RESULTS: From a total of 120 analyzed samples, 71 (59 %) had one or more parasitic contaminants. Lettuce samples had a contamination rate of 78.3 %, and parsley samples of 40 %. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that the vegetables consumed in the city had protozoa, helminths and arthropods, which points to the need for implementing hygienic-sanitary measures in production, handling and transportation of these vegetables.

Prevalence of Parasitic Contamination in Salad Vegetables Collected from Supermarkets and Street Vendors in Amman and Baqa'a - Jordan.

One of the main ways in transmitting parasites to humans is through consuming contaminated raw vegetables. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of parasitological contamination (helminthes eggs, Giardia and Entamoeba histolytica cysts) of salad vegetables sold at supermarkets and street vendors in Amman and Baqa'a ­ Jordan. A total of 133 samples of salad vegetables were collected and examined for the prevalence of parasites. It was found that 29% of the samples were contaminated with different parasites. Of the 30 lettuce, 33 tomato, 42 parsley and 28 cucumber samples examined the prevalence of Ascaris spp. eggs was 43%, 15%, 21% and 4%; Toxocara spp. eggs was 30%, 0%, 0% and 4%; Giardia spp. cysts was 23%, 6%, 0% and 0%; Taenia/Echinococcus eggs was 20%, 0%, 5% and 0%; Fasciola hepatica eggs was 13%, 3%, 2% and 0%; and E. histolytica cysts was 10%, 6%, 0% and 0%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of parasite in salad vegetables either between supermarkets and street vendors, or between Amman and Baqa'a, Ascaris spp. was found to be the highest prevalent parasite in salad vegetables from supermarkets and street vendors and from Amman and Baqa'a. Our results pointed out that, the parasitic contamination of salad vegetables found in our study might be caused by irrigating crops with faecal contaminated water. We concluded that salad vegetables sold in Amman and Baqa'a may cause a health risk to consumers.

Relationship between carrot weevil infestation and parsley yield.

The relationship between numbers of carrot weevil, Listronotus oregonensis (LeConte), oviposition scars and parsley fresh weight and plant mortality was measured in research plots during 1999 and 2000. Fresh weight was measured in one to two cuttings of parsley planted on two planting dates. The average weight declined with increasing numbers of oviposition scars in the later planting in 1999. Compensatory growth in surviving plants may reduce this effect. Plant mortality increased as number of oviposition scars per plant increased in the second planting in both years and in the first cutting of the first planting in 2000. One oviposition scar per plant is sufficient to result in significant reduction in fresh weight per plant. In commercial parsley fields, the relationship between fresh weight of parsley per 30-cm row section of parsley was best described as a linear function of the proportion of plants with root feeding. Economic damage to parsley that is equivalent to the cost of controlling carrot weevil was estimated to result from approximately 1% of plants with root damage. Based upon this estimated economic injury level, we suggest an action threshold of 1% of plants containing carrot weevil oviposition scars earlier in the growing season when controls could be applied to prevent the damage.