The Parasitic Contamination of Raw Vegetables Consumed in Zahedan, Iran

It may be concluded that parasites are common in vegetables that are frequently eaten raw, and the use of tap water does little to remove them. Regarding the results of this study, the importance of vegetables in the transmission of intestinal parasites is stressed, and it is necessary to improve the sanitary conditions of these kinds of food. The findings of forty three samples (44.8%) of all vegetables were microscopically positive for the presence of pathogenic metazoans, the results of 22 (22.9%) were positive for pathogenic protozoa and the results of 34 (35.4%) were positive for nonpathogenic protozoa species. We studied 96 samples of raw vegetables including Garden cress, Wild Leek, sweet basil, cultivated radish, Dill, Coriander, Parsley, Peppermint and Scallion collected from markets in Zahedan City, Iran between June and August 2012. The study was performed in the Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, and Zahedan University of Medical Sciences. The vegetables were washed in tap water including an anionic detergent, the washing solution was then centrifuged and the sediments were examined for parasites. Fresh vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of reported cases of food-borne illness regarding fresh vegetables. The objective of this study was to evaluate the parasitological contamination of vegetables which are consumed raw and commercialized in Zahedan, Iran. These findings could lead to better practices in handling vegetables to protect against intestinal parasitic infections.