Parasitic Contamination in Raw Vegetables and Effect of Washing Procedure in Hamedan, Iran

Complex surface of vegetables facilitate attachment and transmission of several pathogens. No previous study has been conducted in survey of parasitic contamination of vegetables in Hamedan. This study aimed to detect the parasitic contamination in common raw vegetables in Hamedan markets. For this cross sectional study, 150 grams of raw vegetables, including (Mentha, Basil, Chives, Garden cress, and Radish) were collected from 12 retail stores in Hamadan, Iran, in 2017. Each sample washed in three ways; washing by potable water (a), saline solution (b) and a commercial routine detergent (Reeka, company, Iran) (c) for five minutes. After that, the washing solutions were separated and centrifuged at 1800 RPM for 5 minutes. The results showed that various parasites including: helminthic parasites (Strongyloides stercoralis eggs, Ascaris lumbricoides, Toxocara. sp, Taenia. sp, Nemadoda, and free-living larvae) and protozoan parasites (Giardia lamblia trophozoite, Giardia lamblia cyst, and Amoeba trophozoite).This study showed the contamination rate of Mentha (27.08%) and Radish (24.16%) are more than Garden cress. It was observed that Ascaris eggs and Tennia eggs are at the highest and the least Parasitic contamination in vegetables washed with potable water, respectively. One of the ways to eliminate parasitic contamination of vegetables is to use saline solution and detergent to reduce parasites.