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Strawberry production represents an agriculture sector of high relevance for the Spanish economy, due to their strawberries, highly appreciated for their organoleptic characteristics and health benefits. However, the reported outbreaks in different countries by enteric pathogens associated with this product have increased the safety concerns among different stakeholders. A number of factors and pathways for introducing pathogens in the strawberry production chain has been investigated. However, information on the potential internalization of enteric pathogens in strawberries is still scarce. The present study aimed to evaluate the potential internalization of Salmonella enterica sv Thompson via root in strawberry plants under the application of successive contamination events through capillary irrigation. Strawberry plants were organized in three groups (16 plants per group), and they were submitted to different contamination scenarios; groups 1, 2 and 3 were irrigated 1, 2 and 3 times respectively, with 100 mL of water containing Salmonella Thompson (8.8 log10 CFU/mL) every other day for 9 days. Fruits, calyces, and leaves were analyzed during the experiment, while roots were analyzed on the 9th day. The results showed that all calyces analyzed were negative, while one strawberry sample (group 3; day 8), four leaves samples (groups 2 and 3; day 8) and one root sample (group 3; day 9) were positive for Salmonella Thompson, representing the 0.85% (95% C.I.: [0.02–4.63%]), 8.88% (95% C.I.: [2.48–21.22%]), and 2.22% (95% C.I.: [0.06–11.77%]), respectively, of the overall samples analyzed. A significant association between the increased frequency of contamination (three irrigations) and the presence of the pathogen in the samples was elucidated. Our findings, in comparison with other studies, also point out the importance of watering by drip irrigation as a more hygienic and safer agronomic practice than systems like sprinkling irrigation.

Chilled Ready-To-Eat (RTE) foods are of concern in hospital foodservices because they can support microbial growth when subjecting to time/temperature abuses during processing and distribution together with poor handling practices. This study was conducted in five different hospitals (A–E) of Southern Spain during 2008–2009 to perform an evaluation of their sanitary conditions and microbiological quality of two RTE meals: lettuce salads and cooked ham. A checklist based on hygiene principles embedded in Food European legislation was developed and applied in each hospital. In parallel, microbiological analysis of food contact surfaces, air quality and time/temperature measurements along the distribution chain were carried out. RTE samples (n = 150) were examined for mesophilic aerobic bacteria (MAB), total coliforms, coagulase-positive Staphylococci (CPS), Escherichia coli, Listeria spp. and Salmonella spp. Differences were found between hospitals regarding handling practices and cleanliness of working surfaces. Cooked ham samples presented lower counts of MAB and total coliforms (

Listeria monocytogenes, when present, could be able to grow on Ready-to-Eat (RTE) iceberg lettuce. This investigation demonstrates that L. monocytogenes grows on packaged shredded iceberg lettuce held at 13 or 5 °C (maximum growth rate of 0.019 and 0.013 log cfu/h, respectively), with increments of 4.85 and 2.66 log cfu/g, respectively, after 14 days. No lag time was observed at 13 °C, in contrast with that at 5 °C (5.6 days). Initial atmosphere inside the packages was 4.65–6.2% CO2, 2.1–4.3% O2 and a balance of N2. Five predictive models taken from literature gave conservative predictions at 13 °C, although at 5 °C they were closer. Lactic acid and psychrotrophic bacteria showed similar growth at both temperatures. In general, the MAP system reported here retarded the growth of L. monocytogenes in comparison with other works without initial flushing of gases.