Microgreens and sprouts have been used for raw consumption for a long time and are generally viewed as a healthy food. However, several serious outbreaks of foodborne illness have been recorded in European countries, Japan, and North America. Many companies in Latvia nowadays are producing this type of products. The aim of this study was to characterize the incidence of Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Salmonella spp., and Listeria spp. in microgreens, sprouts, and seeds intended for domestic production of microgreens on retail market in Riga, Latvia, from January to April 2019. The background microflora was identified as well. A total of 45 samples were purchased, including fresh and processed sprouts, microgreens, baby greens, as well as seeds intended for domestic production of microgreens and sprouts. The samples were processed according to the methods set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)—ISO/TS 13136:2012 for STEC, ISO 6579-1:2017 for Salmonella spp., and ISO 11290-1:2017 for Listeria spp. Molecular detection of Salmonella spp. was also performed using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The typical and atypical colonies isolated from selective plates were identified with matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Listeria monocytogenes was not detected in any of the tested samples. However, the presence of Listeria innocua was detected in two (4.4%) of the samples. Three (6.7%) samples of dried sprouts were positive for the STEC virulence genes. Salmonella spp. was detected in one (2.2%) sample of common sunflower seeds. Altogether, 46 different background bacterial species were identified. The majority were environmental bacteria characteristic to soil, water, and plants, including coliform bacteria. The results provide evidence that microgreens and seeds available for Latvian consumers are generally safe, however, attention has to be paid to dried sprouts.

中文翻译：

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拉脱维亚里加零售市场上的微型蔬菜、豆芽和发芽种子中致病菌和潜在致病菌的发生情况。

Microgreens 和豆芽长期以来一直用于生食，通常被视为健康食品。然而，在欧洲国家、日本和北美已经记录了几次严重的食源性疾病暴发。如今，拉脱维亚的许多公司都在生产此类产品。本研究的目的是表征产志贺毒素大肠杆菌(STEC)、沙门氏菌和李斯特菌的发生率属 2019 年 1 月至 4 月，在拉脱维亚里加零售市场上用于国内生产微型蔬菜的微型蔬菜、豆芽和种子中。还确定了背景微生物群落。总共购买了 45 个样品，包括新鲜和加工过的豆芽、微型蔬菜、幼苗，以及用于国内生产微型蔬菜和豆芽的种子。样品根据国际标准化组织 (ISO) 制定的方法进行处理 - ISO/TS 13136:2012 用于 STEC，ISO 6579-1:2017 用于沙门氏菌，以及 ISO 11290-1:2017 用于李斯特菌。沙门氏菌的分子检测属 还使用实时聚合酶链反应进行。用基质辅助激光解吸和电离飞行时间质谱法鉴定从选择性板上分离的典型和非典型菌落。在任何测试样品中均未检测到单核细胞增生李斯特菌。然而，在两个 (4.4%) 的样本中检测到了无害李斯特菌。三个 (6.7%) 干芽样品的 STEC 毒力基因呈阳性。沙门氏菌属 在一个 (2.2%) 的普通葵花籽样品中检测到。总共确定了 46 种不同的背景细菌种类。大多数是土壤、水和植物特有的环境细菌，包括大肠菌群。结果证明，可供拉脱维亚消费者使用的微型蔬菜和种子通常是安全的，但必须注意干芽。