Bacterial contaminants of salad vegetables in Abuja Municipal Area Council, Nigeria

Salad vegetables are essential part of people’s diet all around the world. They are usually consumed raw and often without heat treatment or thorough washing; hence have been known to serve as vehicles for the transmission of pathogenic microorganism associated with human diseases. Fresh samples of lettuce, carrot and cucumber collected from different markets and vendors in Abuja Municipal Area Council, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria were evaluated for bacterial loads using spread plate agar dilution method. Bacterial loads ranged from 1.6 x 106 to 2.9 x 108 cfu/g. Escherichia coli, Klebsiella and Enterobacter were amongst the coliforms (lactose fermenters), while Proteus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella and Shigella were non-lactose fermenters associated with the samples. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from majority of the samples.