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A total of 200 samples of traditional ice creams were obtained randomly from the retail stores in the city of Shahr-e-kord. All the samples were analyzed for microbial contaminations according to the Iran national standard. Out of 200 samples, 100 showed mesophilic aerobic bacteria count more than 5*105 per gram of ice cream. One hundred fourteen samples showed Staphylococcus aureus count more than 102 per gram of ice cream. Ninety nine samples showed Enterobacteriacea count more than 102 per gram of ice cream. From 200 samples, 2 samples were Escherichia coli positive, and 24 samples showed Bacillus cereus count more than 103 per gram of ice cream. No Listeria monocytogenes was isolated from 200 samples.

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The increasing production and use of fossil fuels increase the probability of soil source contamination by oil and petroleum products, and pose a hazard to life. There are over 43,000 chemical contaminated sites in Canada and USA, with 2,200 of them classified as high risk. In the US, over $10 billion are spent annually on the cleanup of contaminated sites. The primary objective of this study was to develop and test an innovative in situ soil washing system that could extract contaminants from the soil, quickly and effectively, without causing any threat to water sources. We proposed the use of an organic solvent in our system that is not only lighter than water but is also immiscible with water. It was in-troduced into the soil profile from below using a system of horizontal, underground per-forated pipes, and collected from the soil surface. Since the solvent was being introduced from the bottom, it “wete” the soil completely and thus removed the contaminant effec-tively. To understand and evaluate the performance of the system for remediation, a pre-liminary experiment was performed using two stainless steel columns (1m long x 0.2m di-ameter) packed with two diesel fuel contaminated soils (fresh and old contamination). The proposed technique is innovative, unique and very fast for the remediation of diesel fuel contaminated soils. It is the first study of its kind employing a subirrigation system for de-livering organic solvents (lighter than water and immiscible in water) for in situ soil wash-ing. Some preliminary applications of the system to diesel fuel contaminated sand soils have proved very promising for both fresh and old contaminated sites. The method could be equally suited for other contaminants also.

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  Date palm is one of important and strategic crops in, Iran. Microbial contamination is the most important factor in wasting of date palm. In this study, Sayer or Stamaran cultivar that is the most predominant cultivar in Khuzestan province, was studied and its microbial profile and characteristics including: total  count ( T.C), mold and yeast, and coli form were determined. During six months storage at 2 different temperatures environment temperature (25^°C   ) and cold storage ( 4 ^°C   ). Samples of date fruits were taken randomly after harvesting from ten trees and were then packed in plastic containers and stored as mentioned until the day of experiment for microbial analysis and analyzed in 3 replicates.Date samples homogenized with stomacher and then diluted with serum physiology.Standard plate count agar, sabroud Dextrose Agar and Violet Red Bile Lactose Agar media were used for total count,mold and yeast and coliform determination,respectively. Results showed that cold storage had inhibitory effect on microbial growth and microbial profile especially mold and yeast has had increasing trend in environment temperature and decreasing trend in cold storage during 6 month.With respect to mold and yeast log cfu had increased from 3.63 to 5.32 in room or environmental temperature and had decreased from 5.36 to 3 in cold or refrigerator temperature.No clear trend had been seen in total count and coliforms in both temperatures. Finally according to the results, the best condition for date palm storage is the cold storage or refrigerator temperature (4 ^°C) that this temperature has the inhibitory effect on microbial growth.

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Aims: Mobile phones, which are one of the most essential tools in social and professional life, are rarely disinfected. So, these devices may become contaminated with a variety of bacterial organisms. The aim of this study was to evaluate bacterial contamination and identify all bacterial isolates of mobile phones related to social groups in Kufa Technical Institute and to determine the efficiency of two disinfectants prepared on bacterial species.
Materials & Methods: Fifty-one swab samples of mobile phones were randomly collected from different people in the social groups of Kufa Technical Institute and cultured on selective and enrichment media and incubated at 37°C for 24 hours. Then, the isolated bacteria were identified by gram staining and biochemical tests and confirmed using Vitek 2. Next, two disinfectants were prepared and their inhibitory activity against microbes compared to ethanol alcohol-70% was investigated.
Findings: Ten bacterial species were isolated and identified from mobile phones, which included Staphylococcus aureus (49%), Staphylococcus epidermidis (12%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (11%), Staphylococcus haemolyticus (6%), Escherichia vulner (6%), Escherichia coli (4%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (4%), Bacillus sp (4%), Pantoea spp (2%), and Cronobacter C sakazakii (2%). Microbial growth was also reduced by the use of disinfectants, the first disinfectant showed a higher inhibitory effect compared to the second disinfectant, while the control disinfectant (ethanol-70%) had no effect on all tested bacteria.
Conclusion: Bacteria colonize cell phones in social groups. Using disinfectants reduces bacterial contamination on the surface of the mobile phone.
 

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Since the process of traditional ice cream production enhances the chance of its microbial contamination, leading to a higher risk of foodborne disease in human, this study designed to determine the microbial contamination of traditional ice cream products sold in Tehran from March 2008 to March 2011.In this cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study, the ice cream samples were collected randomly from different vendors in Tehran and transported to the laboratory of Food and Drug Deputy of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. The samples were examined for their total mesophilic aerobic bacteria, Enterobacteriacea, Escherichia Coli, Staphylococcus aureus and mold. The laboratory examinations were conducted using the specific national standards for any organism. The descriptive data were obtained and the chi-square test, at significance level of p<0.05, was used to compare the level of contamination between different time periods. Ninety four percent of the samples did not meet the national microbiological standards for ice creams. Total mesophilic aerobic bacteria, rate of Enterobacteriaceae and mold were higher than the safety limits according to Iranian national standards in 88.1%, 100% and 73% of the samples, respectively. Escherichia Coli and Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from 23.6% and 4% of the samples, respectively. There was a significant difference between Staphylococcus aureus contamination of the ice creams in the Spring-Summer periods of 2008 to 2011. No other significant difference was shown between different time periods in this study. This study did not show any improvement in the microbial contamination of the ice creams during the study period.The high microbial load of the traditional ice creams confirms unhygienic conditions on their process of production and sale. Implementation of hygienic practices and regular control on these processes is recommended to minimize the risk of contamination.  

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Deoxynivalenol contamination was determined in corn produced in Golestan and Ardabil (Moqan) Provinces, Iran, in 2004-2005. Samples were collected from different stages of production, including before harvest, at harvest, post harvest as well as after drying. Ground sub samples were extracted with water; each extracted sample was cleaned up through an immunoaffinity column. Deoxynivalenol was estimated through reversed-phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The linearity of standard curve for 50 -10,000 ng ml-1 of standard solutions was proved (R2= 0.9999). Detection limit was 10 ng g-1. Recovery of the method for 1,000 and 500 ng g-1 spiked samples was 73.5% and 93.5% (n= 5). Deoxynivalenol contamination was found in 76.7% of samples in the range of 54.4-518.4 ng g-1. The mean of contamination was 116.25 ng g-1. This is the first report of natural DON contamination of corn from Iran.

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Field experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of thiobencarb and oxadiargyl herbicides on rice (Oryza sativa L.) and their possible residual effects on spinach (Spinacea oleracea L.) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) at Dashtnaz and Gharakhil Agricultural Research Stations, Iran. Treatments included thiobencarb at 3.16 and 6.33 kg a.i. ha-1, oxadiargyl at 0.15 and 0.30 kg a.i. ha-1 and a non-treated control. After harvesting rice, trial plots were kept undisturbed until late September when spinach was seeded in half of each plot. In November lettuce was transplanted in another half of the plots. Soil residual oxadiargyl at 0.30 kg a.i. ha-1 stunted rice up to 31%, but this injury was transient and did not reduce yield. The adverse effect of oxadiargyl on rice was lower at Gharakhil possibly due to the greater binding by soil organic matter (OM). At Dashtnaz, spinach fresh yield was significantly affected by soil residues of oxadiargyl. Whereas lettuce fresh yield was significantly reduced in both thiobencarb and oxadiargyl treated plots. At Gharakhil, fresh yield of lettuce was not affected significantly. The experimental results revealed that soil characteristics, in particular OM content, are the main factors controlling the effect of thiobencarb and oxadiargyl residues. Furthermore, it could be concluded that oxadiargyl affected rice and spinach fresh yield greater than thiobencarb. Since no statistically significant differences were found in rice, spinach, and lettuce yield between the two applied doses of thiobencarb, from economical and environmental point of view, the lower thiobencarb dose is recommended to be used in paddy fields of northern Iran.

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In current investigation a quality control ultrasonic system has been presented for detecting microbial contamination of UHT milk packages. This system is able to detect microbial contamination of milk packages without opening them. Microorganisms’ growth causes some changes in physical and chemical properties of milk resulting in changes of ultrasonic properties of milk. In this study amplitude and time of flight of ultrasonic waves were measured. The center frequency of piezoelectric discs was 1.02 MHz and all of experiments were done in temperature 35°C. Ultrasonic tests were conducted for microorganisms Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aurous and Bacillus cereus. The results showed that different bacteria’s metabolisms affected chemical properties of milk and detecting process of microbial contamination. Ultrasonic system was able to detect microbial contamination after 7.25 to 12.5 h. from microbe injection. Also, the results showed that ultrasonic system can detect microbial contamination in various values of acidity and pH of milk packages.

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The investigation of microbial flora in dairy factories and the role of environmental factors are very important. This study was to determine the microbial air contamination in various parts of dairy factories in Shahrekord. In this study sampling was done by using sedimentation method. Microbial analysis included counting total aerobic bacteria, staphylococci, bacillus, yeasts, and molds. In each sampling series the plates containing the selective medium, for 1hour, were placed 1meter away from wall and in the height of 1meter from ground in different parts, then the samples were transferred to laboratory and have been kept in 37^oC in incubator for 48hours. After counting the colonies, specific biochemical tests were used for determining isolated bacteria identity. For evaluating of fungal the Potato dextrose agar mediums containing choloramphenicol were used. The gender of grown fungal was determined by using routine laboratory methods including the teased mount and slide culture technique. The results show that the total bacteria number in air ,Among the total isolated colonies, the contamination ratio to gram positive cocci was 44%, gram positive bacilli was 53.1%, gram negative bacilli was 2.7%, and gram negative cocci was 0.57%, Among the total isolated bacteria the most bacterial type was related to Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, and Escherichila coli respectively. Also, the results of counting fungi numbers in air showed that ,Among the total 313 various isolated fungal colonies, yeasts 60/3%, Trichosporon14/6%, Paecilomyces7/6 %, Geotrichum5/7%,  Madurella5/7%, Cladosporium2/5%, Aspergillus2/2%, Monillia1% and Rhizopus1% were investigate. According to the suggested air microbial contamination standard amount by America Public Health Association, the results of this study show that the air of different parts of factories have high contamination and the possibility of transfer of contamination to products of these factories is high.  

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Groundwater is of important drinking water resources. The quality of those water resources which are not affected by human activities, is characterized by local geological conditions. The present research was conducted in order to investigate the quality of water resources located in the south of Birjand plain, South Khorasan Province, using mass balance techniques. This research dealt with the quality assessment and the distribution pattern of physico-chemical parameters (anions and cations, pH, EC, TSS, TDS, and TH) in the groundwater resources in the region resulting in indentifying the contamination resources. Also, the origins of anions and cations in the groundwater resources as well as their connection with the geological characteristics of the region were evaluated by employing the mass balance techniques. The water sampling was performed systematically based on the distribution wells over the plain, with regard to the distances, and perpendicular to the topographical lines from the heights toward the lower plains down to the main river, 3 kilometers apart across the plain. In average, one third of whole wells in the study area were selected for sampling. The samples were taken during the end of dry season (October 2010) from 27 wells, 2 Qanats, and 1 spring. The cations (Na +, Ca+2, Mg+2, and K+), anions (HCO- 3 , SO 4 2-     , CO 3 2-     , and Cl-), TSS, TDS, pH, and the total hardness of the water samples were measured in the Water, Soil, and Plant   Laboratory, Kavosh Ab Shargh Khorasan Jonobi Engineering Services Co.   To assess the quality of the water resources in the region, in this research the physicchemical   properties of water samples were compared with ISIRI 1053 to identify the contaminated wells. The hardness of the samples was measured and the water resources types were identified using Piper Diagram. Also, through calculating the correlation factors and mass balance, hydrogeochemistry of water resources and probable origin of cations and anions were assessed. The results showed that 50%, 30%, and 10% of the groundwater resources are contaminated with magnesium, sodium, and chloride respectively. The petrological studies verified the presence of ophiolite sequence. A set of ultramafic rocks and basic magma (spilites) with wide developments in southern heights of Birjand plain which had the most effects on the water quality of the region. The water resources contaminations in the region may be due to the presence of listonites from the alteration of ultramafic rocks existed in highlands, upstream of the groundwater resources. 96% of groundwater resources are classified as very hard water. The types of groundwater vary from carbonated calcic in highlands to chloride sodic in downstream and east of the region due to high solubility of Na + and Cl- existing in the soil. %36.6 of water resources were chloric-sodic and the rest were classified as chloric-magnesic, bicarbonatesodic, and bicarbonate-magnesic. The correlation analysis of the parameters indicated that sodium has a very high correlation with chloride, potassium, and sulfate. The positive correlation of Mg 2+ with Ca2+ (+0.614) is an indication of the same origin for both ions. Also, EC with TH (+0.710) and Ca 2+ (+0.710) and TH with TSS (+0.641) show positive correlation. In general, these positive correlations indicate the common geogenic origin of cations and anions in water resources of the region. WATEVAL software was employed for calculating the mass balance using the concentration of anions and cations to find the effective parameters and origin of ions in the water resources. These calculations verify and emphasize on the influence of geological conditions of the region on hydrogeochemical properties of water resources of the plain. Mass balance analysis denotes that the origin of sodium and potassium could be the ion exchange process originated from weathering of mafic rocks (spilites) while the calcium may be released due to weathering of plagioclases of sub-volcanic mass, ferromagnesian minerals, carbonated listonite, and dissolution of limestone in the region.  

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 Pathogen growth in vitro is one of the major problems in plant micropropagation, so the most important stage of in vitro culture of plants is disinfection of the cultures. In the common methods of disinfection, the media and plant materials, apparatus such as autoclaves and chemicals disinfectents are used, which causes the time of this process and the costs to increase. This research objective to improve the disinfection of Iris hollandica cv. Apollo scales using different plant essential oils (thyme, cumin and savory) and the methods of using essential oils as disinfectants, the use of essential oils in the medium and the use of essential oils fumigation was done in four independent experiments. The use of essential oils of thyme, cumin, and savory completely prevented both contamination of the culture medium and contamination of the explant. The best disinfection method was when the essential oils were used in combination with the culture medium. Bacterial contamination was better controlled at concentrations of 0.125 to 0.25%, but the concentration of 0.25% of essential oils resulted in better control of fungal infection. The least browning of iris scale explants was observed at a concentration of 0.125. The technique presented in this study can significantly reduce the cost of electricity and lighting, as well as personnel costs. Therefore, this method can introduce a practical and cost-effective technique for plant micropropagation.

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Raphanus sativus L. (radish) plants were grown in waste water irrigated area of Dinapur, a suburban area in the north east of Varanasi, India. Soil and plant characteristics were compared between fertilized (farmyard manure (FYM), NPK, and FYM+N) and non-amended control treatments. Compared to the control, plants grown in FYM and FYM+N amended soil showed a decrease in concentrations of heavy metals by 14 to 32% and 14 to 17%, respectively, with corresponding yield increments of 60 and 49%. Plants grown under NPK amendment showed high availability of the heavy metals, which, consequently, induced the activities of antioxidant enzymes and reduced photosynthetic rate, growth, and yield of the plants. Therefore, application of a particular dose of FYM alone and in combination with N at regular intervals may be recommended as a cheap technique for reducing the availability of heavy metals in metal contaminated fields.

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Objective: Mycoplasma salivarium (M. salivarium) isone of the most common contaminants present in cell culture laboratories that cause undesirable effects on cell cultures. Thus, the identification and rapid diagnosis in controlling and prevention of this contaminant are important. The aim of this study is the detection of Mycoplasma salivarium contamination in cell culture using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. Methods: A 16S rRNA-based Mycoplasma genus and specific primer PCR method for M. salivarium was developed. The sensitivity and specificity of this method were determined. The PCR test was used after we extracted DNA from the cultured isolates. Results: A total of 62 cell culture samples were sent to the Mycoplasma Reference Laboratory at Razi Institute, Karaj, Iran for detection of Mycoplasma contamination. A total of 42 (67.75%) out of 62 samples scored positive according to the Mycoplasma genus. From these 42 samples, 15 (35.72%) reacted positively with a clear band of 434 bp in the M. Salivarium-specific PCR method. Conclusion: Due to the high percentage of M. salivarium contamination in cell cultures, we recommend aseptic conditions be used in the laboratory when working with cell cultures. The PCR method is a suitable and valuable tool for the detection of M. salivarium contamination in cell cultures with appropriate and specific primers. This PCR method can be processed in less than one day.

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Objective: Fusarium species are prevalent contaminants of foodstuffs and agricultural crops.  They produce fumonisins, which are carcinogenic mycotoxins. The present study has evaluated maize and wheat samples from ten provinces in Iran that were contaminated with Fusarium species. Special attention was paid to the ability of the isolates to produce fumonisin B₁ (FB₁) as a public health hazard. Methods: We collected 32 maize and 15 wheat samples from ten provinces that were major cultivation areas. Samples surface disinfected with a 1% sodium hypochlorite solution for 2 minutes. Fusarium species were isolated by the flotation method on malachite green agar. Pure cultures on potato dextrose agar (PDA) were identified using a combination of macroscopic and microscopic morphological criteria. The ability of the isolates to produce FB₁ was evaluated by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and the amounts of fumonisin B₁ produced were assessed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results: A total of 55 Fusarium isolates that belonged to five species were isolated. There were 27 of the 32 maize samples (84.4%) and 11 of 15 wheat samples (73.3%) that were contaminated with Fusarium species. Species consisted of F. verticillioides (23 isolates), F. proliferatum (22 isolates), F. subglutinans (5 isolates), F. nygamai (4 isolates) and F. redolens (1 isolate) based on morphological criteria. Twenty-two of the 55 (40%) Fusarium isolates produced FB₁ in a total range from 230.4 to 9565 µg/ml. The highest amounts of FB₁ production were related to toxigenic isolates of F. verticillioides and F. proliferatum. Conclusion: Results of the present work indicates a high degree of contamination of maize and wheat with Fusarium strains that belong to the Gibberella fujikuroi species complex وparticularly F. verticillioides and F. proliferatum. This contamination is a potential public health threat due to food spoilage and subsequent production of high levels of carcinogenic FB₁.

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Exploitation of the full potential of any hybrid requires the possessing of genetically high-purity seeds. Commercial soybean hybrids have been developed using a cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) system. In order to avoid reduction in yield caused by using low-purity seeds, development of a simple, rapid, and accurate method for hybrid purity assessment is of great essence and significance. Therefore, the parental lines of HybSoy 1 to 5 were screened using 160 Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) makers, of which 8 markers exhibited polymorphism. A PCR-based assay with these markers detected both alleles of the parental lines in pure hybrids, proving their heterozygosity, whereas impurities were identified by the presence of only one parental allele. The confirmation of hybrid purity indicated that a single polymorphic marker was sufficient for detection of contaminations of these hybrids from their parents. It was also found that if a hybrid seed lot was contaminated by another hybrid or its parental lines, two or more appropriate markers could be used to easily detect such contamination. This method could accurately and effectively identify the hybrid purity in a predetermined sample of soybean hybrids constituted by deliberately mixing seeds of parental lines. This is the first report that demonstrates the utility of SSR markers for assessment of genetic purity of soybean hybrids.

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Soil contamination significantly reduces environmental quality and affects human health. To investigate and assess the effects of land use on the concentrations of some heavy metals in surface soils of Golestan province, 227 soil samples (0-60 cm) were collected from three types of land uses including agricultural lands, natural, and industrial areas. The total metals and metalloids (Cr, Se, As, Cd, Ni, Pb, Zn, Cu, Fe) were extracted and their concentrations were measured in all samples. The results showed that heavy metals accumulations in soil samples of the industrial land uses were higher than agricultural and natural land uses. There was significant correlation among the soils heavy metals (more than 30% for most samples) and also between soil heavy metals and organic carbon content in different types of land uses (average of 40%). Cluster analysis revealed that As and Se had the highest concentration values compared to their corresponding background in most samples and showed the evidence of anthropic effects. Various indices including pollution load index (PLI), modified contamination degree (mC_d), and enrichment factor (EF) were used to determine the soil contamination level. The results of PLI and mC_d,indicated the higher accumulation of heavy metals at industrial land uses. The enrichment factor of Se and As in soils were higher than the other metals, however, their values showed that anthropogenic activities had not serious effects on the environment quality in the studied area.

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In this study, micromorphological properties of some samples collected from pedons polluted with petroleum refinery wastes and some adjacent unpolluted pedons were studied. After description of the studied pedons, disturbed and undisturbed samples were collected for physicochemical and micromorphological analyses. The results showed that the physicochemical properties (i.e. structure, bulk density, pH, EC and organic matter) of the soils polluted with petroleum wastes were strongly changed. Prolonged exposure of soils to the petroleum wastes resulted in the formation of specific and distinctive micromorphological features. Strongly developed granular microstructure and infillings of solid petroleum wastes alone or mixed with soil aggregates were some of the most important pedofeatures which were observed in deeper horizons. The existence of excrement belonging to different soil micro and macro fauna, coatings, hypocoatings, quasicoatings, and zones depleted from petroleum dissolvable materials at different depths were the other features throughout the pedons. The type of developed pedofeatures was correlated with the state of petroleum wastes and their fluidity in penetration, deposition, or dissolving and removal of soil compounds. This study demonstrated that micromorphology can be used as a powerful technique in characterization of petroleum polluted soils.

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Fresh vegetables are important sources of nutrients, vitamins and fiber and their consumption, especially in raw form, has increased in recent years due to special attention to improving the health of society. Today, despite the use of strict disinfection methods in vegetable and salad factories, The problem of microbial contamination, especially Escherichia coli mesophilic bacteria, remains in the summer. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of interstitial contamination of vegetables with coliforms and specifically Escherichia coli. In this study, iceberg lettuce and non-disinfected vegetable samples were used as control samples and 4 samples of disinfected lettuce and vegetables were randomly sampled from the production line. Samples were inoculated into the relevant culture medium after disinfection with peracetic acid solution and calcium hypochlorite and then final rinsing with water. To evaluate the surface contamination, after 1, 5 and 20 minutes and also to examine the interstitial contamination Finely chopped face After 20 minutes, a specific test for Escherichia coli was performed. The growth of this bacterium was observed in control samples and very finely chopped vegetable samples. The results of this study indicate the accuracy and adequacy of the disinfection process and the lack of surface contamination and the possibility of interstitial contamination and absorption of this bacterium through the roots and vessels of the plant.