Bacterial contamination and associated antibiotic resistance in Fresh Produce : A comparative study between retail outlets and local markets

Abstract

The consumption of food is essential for human survival, but the presence of bacterial pathogens in fresh produce can pose significant risks to public health by causing severe foodborne and enteric diseases. With this concern in mind, our study aimed to assess the contamination levels of specific bacterial species, E. coli, Salmonella spp., and Staphylococcus aureus, in various fresh produce items (pear, guava, apple, carrot, turnip, and cucumber) sourced from both local markets and retail outlets. Additionally, we investigated the antibiotic resistance of these bacterial species. Our findings revealed the presence of the selected bacterial species, E. coli, Salmonella spp., S. aureus, in all samples obtained from both retail outlets and local markets. Notably, from among the local markets, pear exhibited the highest bacterial load (4.29 × 10 5 CFU/gm) compared to guava (3.16 × 10 5 CFU/gm) and apple (2.83 × 10 5 CFU/gm). Among vegetables, carrots demonstrated the highest contamination (4.27 × 10 5 CFU/gm) compared to turnip (3.38 × 10 5 CFU/gm) and cucumber (2.45 × 10 5 CFU/gm). Similar pattern was also