Food Protection Trends - March/April 2023 - 168

mainly chlorine-based compounds, are commonly used in
the wash water to reduce the microbial load, prevent crosscontamination,
and inactivate pathogenic microorganisms
that may be present (47). Consequently, MPV are usually
sold as sanitized and ready for consumption.
The MPV market emerged in Brazil in the mid-1970s with
the expansion of fast-food chains in the southeastern region
of the country (38, 47). Changes in consumers' lifestyles,
such as increases in the number of daily activities and less
time to prepare food, have driven demand for practical and
convenient foods (1, 3, 47). Data from several studies have
indicated that MPV consumption is growing worldwide
(15, 41). Although no official data on the MPV market have
been collected in Brazil, the increase in consumer demand
and interest in these products have been reported in some
studies (6, 39, 47). The dietary guidelines for the Brazilian
population recommend that natural or minimally processed
foods should be the basis of a healthy diet, including a
wide variety of foods mostly from plants (9). Therefore,
consumption of MPV is a simple and quick way to include
healthy foods in daily meals (9, 18, 48).
Although MPV usually go through a washing step in which
sanitizers are often used to reduce cross-contamination
and maintain the quality of the wash water, microbial
reduction on produce is limited and the reduction of certain
microorganisms to a specific level of safety cannot be assured
(33, 47). Because MPV are ready-to-eat commodities and do
not require additional treatment before consumption, any
contamination present can increase the risk of foodborne
outbreaks (24, 47). In Brazil, between 2000 and 2021 14,588
foodborne outbreaks were recorded by the Ministry of
Health (11), resulting in 266,247 illnesses and 212 deaths.
Among these outbreaks, 3,582 (1.3%) were associated with
the consumption of vegetables. However, no information
was available on whether these vegetables were consumed
raw or as MPV. In the United States, data from the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (13) revealed that 51
foodborne outbreaks (including 5 multistate outbreaks)
linked to leafy greens were reported between 2014 and
2018. From 2019 to 2021, nine multistate outbreaks were
reported, and MPV were linked to some of them. In 2021,
four multistate outbreaks were linked to the consumption
of contaminated packaged salads: one caused by Escherichia
coli O157:H7 (in 4 states, resulting in 10 illnesses, 10
hospitalizations, and one death), one caused by Salmonella
Typhimurium (in 4 states, resulting in 31 illnesses and 4
hospitalizations), and two caused by Listeria monocytogenes
(one in 8 states, resulting in 10 illnesses, 10 hospitalizations,
and 1 death; and the other in 13 states, resulting in 18
illnesses, 16 hospitalizations, and 3 deaths).
Several studies have been conducted to evaluate the microbiological
quality and safety of MPV in Brazil and in many
other countries, and pathogenic bacteria have been detected
in these products (4, 5, 16, 17, 19, 20, 23, 25, 28, 29, 33, 36,
168 Food Protection Trends March/April
40, 46-48). Although data from several studies on pathogenic
organisms are available for MPV, no specific legislation
for these types of products has been enacted in Brazil. The
Brazilian National Health and Sanitary Surveillance Agency
has not set a specific good manufacturing technical standard
for MPV. However, MPV industries follow regulations at the
federal level related to good manufacturing practices, such as
Portaria MS 1.428/1993, Portaria SVS 326/1997, and RDC
275/2002 (7, 8, 10), proscribed for all kinds of food processing
plants. In the state of Rio Grande do Sul in southern
Brazil and in the city of São Paulo in southeastern Brazil,
specific technical standards have been published related to
good manufacturing practices and standard operating procedures
for the manufacturing of minimally processed fruits
and vegetables (44, 49).
To ensure quality and microbiological safety, processing
plants must adopt strategies to control bacterial contamination
during the production of MPV that include good
handling practices during all stages of production: primary
production, harvest, storage, and processing (23, 47). Despite
the growing demand for minimally processed products and
the advantages associated with their consumption (mainly
practicality), studies on the profiles and eating habits of MPV
consumers are lacking.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Sampling and survey instrument
A cross-sectional study was carried out that included
use of a questionnaire that was prepared on the Google
Forms platform and publicly disseminated via the Internet
and social networks between February and March 2021,
with anonymous voluntary participation. The inclusion
criteria for participants were being ≥18 years of age and
residing in Brazil. No incentives were offered to participants.
The Web link to the questionnaire was sent to the
researchers' contact network by e-mail and to community
groups through social networks, thus generating a
snowball sample where volunteers were asked to spread
the questionnaire link through their personal network to
increase the total number and diversity of participants.
Data were collected from individuals with access to some
digital equipment connected to the Internet, resulting in a
non-probabilistic sample with convenience bias. Approval
for the study was obtained from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical
Sciences Research Ethics Committee (CAAE
33999720.0.0000.0067).
The questionnaire was composed of 27 questions
divided into three categories: (i) demographic characteristics
(gender, age, marital status, profession, education,
monthly family income, number of children, and number
of residents in the same home); (ii) consumption of fresh
vegetables and MPV; and (iii) perception of the microbiological
risk associated with the consumption of MPV.
A brief definition and examples of MPV were included in
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