The role of plant-based foods in the epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance has been inadequately studied. In this investigation, resistant organisms from vegetables, fruits and spices imported into Canada were identified and characterized. A total of 143 products imported from primarily Asian and African countries were purchased from international markets in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Samples were selectively cultured for bacterial species where resistance is known to be emerging. The proportions of samples positive for each organism were as follows: E. coli (n = 13, 9.1%), Salmonella spp. (n = 2, 1.4%), ESBL producing Enterobacter spp. (n = 2, 1.4%) and K. pneumoniae (n = 2, 1.4%), S. aureus (n = 7, 4.9%) and Enterococcus spp. (n = 66, 46.2%). Antimicrobial minimum inhibitory concentrations were determined by broth micro-dilution and agar-dilution. Based on the susceptibility of each organism, isolates were screened for resistance genes (β-lactamases and plasmid mediated quinolones resistance determinants) by PCR. Extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae and methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) were identified from 6/143 (4.2%) and 2/143 (1.4%) of samples respectively. The qnrB, qnrS and aac(6')-Ib-cr plasmid mediated quinolone resistance determinants were identified in 2/143 (1.4%) of samples tested. None of the Enterobacteriaceae isolates were resistant to meropenem or colistin. Similarly, all Enterococcus isolates remained susceptible to ampicillin, penicillin and vancomycin. Finding multi-drug resistant bacteria which are frequently isolated from human infections is concerning, although the contribution of the global food trade to the dissemination of resistance remains cryptic. These results suggest that imported plant-based foods may be an underappreciated source of clinically relevant resistant organisms. Further study is required to address these gaps in our understanding of the epidemiology of resistance, and the magnitude of the risk posed to human health by these organisms.

中文翻译：

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从进口到加拿大的植物性食品中鉴定出抗药性细菌。

尚未充分研究基于植物的食品在抗菌素耐药性流行病学中的作用。在这项调查中，鉴定并鉴定了从加拿大进口的蔬菜，水果和香料中产生的抗药性生物。从萨斯喀彻温省萨斯卡通的国际市场上购买了总共143种产品，这些产品主要从亚洲和非洲国家进口。对样品进行选择性培养以发现其中已知会产生抗药性的细菌。对每种生物阳性的样品比例如下：大肠杆菌（n = 13，9.1％），沙门氏菌。（n = 2，1.4％），ESBL产生肠杆菌。（n = 2，1.4％）和肺炎克雷伯菌（n = 2，1.4％），金黄色葡萄球菌（n = 7，4.9％）和肠球菌。（n = 66，46.2％）。通过肉汤微量稀释和琼脂稀释确定最小抑菌浓度。根据每种生物的敏感性，通过PCR筛选分离株的抗性基因（β-内酰胺酶和质粒介导的喹诺酮类抗性决定簇）。分别从6/143（4.2％）和2/143（1.4％）的样品中鉴定出产生广谱β-内酰胺酶的肠杆菌科细菌和耐甲氧西林的金黄色葡萄球菌（MRSA）。在2/143（1.4％）的测试样品中鉴定了qnrB，qnrS和aac（6'）-Ib-cr质粒介导的喹诺酮抗性决定簇。没有一种肠杆菌科细菌对美洛培南或粘菌素有抗性。同样，所有肠球菌分离株仍对氨苄西林，青霉素和万古霉素敏感。尽管全球食品贸易对传播抗药性的贡献仍然是个谜，但寻找与人类感染经常分离的耐多药细菌却是令人担忧的。这些结果表明，进口的植物性食品可能是临床相关抗性生物体未被充分认识的来源。在我们对耐药性流行病学以及这些生物体对人类健康构成的风险的认识方面，需要做进一步的研究来解决这些差距。