Characterization of Escherichia Coli Associated with Vegetable Salad

Abstract

Raw vegetables, particularly leafy greens, are frequently linked to foodborne illness outbreaks due to potential contamination with pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli. E. coli is a diverse species comprising both harmless and pathogenic strains. In 2018, a romaine lettuce outbreak in Canada underscored the severity of contamination events (Hossain et al., 2021). This study investigates the microbial safety of locally grown vegetable salads, focusing on the isolation, identification and antibiotic resistance profiling of E. coli strains.