ISSN: 0973-7510

E-ISSN: 2581-690X

Research Article | Open Access

Jihad Alrehaili1, Firas K. Almarri2, Sunil Kumar3, Shoeb Mustafa1,Hassan Alshehri4, Shafiul Haque5,6,7, Arezki Azzi8 and Razique Anwer1

1Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
2College of Medicine, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
3Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Kampala International University, Western Campus, Ishaka, Uganda.
4Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
5Research and Scientific Studies Unit, College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences, Jazan University, Jazan-45142, Saudi Arabia.
6Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon.
7Centre of Medical and Bio-Allied Health Sciences Research, Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates.
8Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Article Number: 8239 | © The Author(s). 2023
J Pure Appl Microbiol. 2023;17(2):838-848. https://doi.org/10.22207/JPAM.17.2.10
Received: 14 November 2022 | Accepted: 21 March 2023 | Published online: 17 April 2023
Issue online: June 2023
Abstract

Uncertainty persists concerning the role of ready-to-eat (RTE) salad as a bacterial reservoir. The attention paid to food safety by international agencies and international regulations has not improved food safety despite technological advancements, RTE salad’s microbiological quality and safety still seems challenging. The present study’s objective was to detect any microorganism in the RTE salads sold in supermarkets of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and to interpret the susceptibility pattern of isolated bacteria to a set of antimicrobials. Phenotypic methods and biochemical analysis were used to identify the isolated bacterium from each salad sample. Antibiograms of the isolated bacteria was determined by VITEK system 2. Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) was performed for 15 Escherichia coli isolates for investigating evolutionary relationship and genetic analysis. The culture-based technique showed that the major species identified in samples were Aeromonas spp., Acinetobacter spp., E. coli, Roultella ornithinolytica, Citrobacter koseri, Luciferciaadec arboxylata, Klebsiella oxytoca, and Aerococcus viridians. Remarkably, Acinetobacter spp. showed the highest antibiotic resistance to erythromycin, nitrofurantoin and co-trimoxazole. ST 1887 was the most common one traced in 3 E. coli isolates, when total of 12 STs (sequence types) were specified to 15 isolates. A total of three clonal complexes (CC); CC-12, CC-14 & CC-23 were reported in this study. Implementing an accurate, rapid, and easy microbiological analysis method could be valuable for providing higher quality products. Based on the obtained results, dedicated regular RTE salad quality monitoring is recommended, and hand hygiene should be maintained while handling and packaging of RTE.

Keywords

Antibiotic Resistance, VITEK System 2, MLST, Microbial Contamination, RTE Salad, Supermarkets

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© The Author(s) 2023. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted use, sharing, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.