Exploring the potential human pathogenic bacteria in selected ready-to-eat leafy greens sold in Dhaka City, Bangladesh: Estimation of bacterial load and incidence.

This study was designed to investigate the presence of potential human pathogenic bacteria, bacterial load, and their incidence in ready-to-eat leafy greens viz., coriander, lettuce, and mint leaves sold at diverse marketplaces in Dhaka City. Multiple identification methods including cultural, morphological, biochemical, and molecular analysis were employed in the Plant Pathology Laboratory of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University to identify the human pathogenic bacteria. In molecular analysis, the DNA samples were put through PCR using bacterial primer 27F: AGAGTTTGATCMTGGCTGAG and universal primer 1942R: CGGTTACCTTGTTACGACTT. Initially, nine different bacterial genera viz. Bacillus, Escherichia, Pseudomonas, Neisseria, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Shigella, Vibrio , and Staphylococcus were detected, and their incidence was 93%, 67%, 44%, 30%, 26%, 26%, 11%, 7%, and 7% respectively. A total of twelve bacteria have been identified from these genera out of which 7 bacteria viz. Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter aerogenes , Staphylococcus aureus , and Shigella spp., were reported as human pathogenic bacteria in several pieces of literature. The highest colony-forming units per gram were shown in mint (4.27 ± 2.35 × 10 9 ) followed by lettuce (2.87 ± 0.76 × 10 9 ) and coriander (2.43 ± 1.32 × 10 9 ). Considering marketplaces, the highest colony-forming units per gram were observed in the samples of street markets (5.0 ± 1.72 × 10 9 ) and the lowest was in supermarkets (1.87 ± 0.46 × 10 9 ) followed by local markets (2.7 ± 0.91 × 10 9 ). All the leafy green samples crossed the acceptable level of bacterial load (10 6  CFU/g). The findings of the study highlight the urgency for improved food safety protocols in their production and distribution in Dhaka city.