Incidence of microbial flora in lettuce, meat and Spanish potato omelette from restaurants Original Research Article

A total of 370 samples including lettuce, meats (beef, pork and chicken) and Spanish potato omelette from restaurants were studied to evaluate the incidence of Escherichia coli, E. coli O157:H7, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., Yersinia enterocolitica, enterococci and some micro-organisms that can cause spoilage or can be used as indicators for food safety. Escherichia coli and enterococci were harboured with the highest incidence in lettuce, whereas incidence of Staphylococcus aureus was higher in meat than in the other foods studied. Enterobacter cloacae and Klebsiella pneumoniae were isolated from the three food groups. Chryseomonas luteola, Enterobacter sakazakii, Klebsiella ozaenae, Moraxella spp. and Serratia odorifera were isolated from lettuce, whilstProvidencia spp. were detected only in beef. Salmonella spp., E. coli O157:H7 or Yersinia enterocolitica were not isolated from any of the raw or ‘ready-to-eat’ samples analysed.