This study aimed to determine the microbiological quality of mixed fresh-cut vegetable salads and mixed ready-to-eat fresh herbs produced in Mashhad, Iran. A total of 174 samples including 89 mixed fresh-cut vegetable salads and 85 mixed ready-to-eat fresh herbs were collected between July 2010 and March 2011. Samples were analyzed for aerobic plate counts, coliforms, enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, and yeast and mold counts. The incidence levels of aerobic plate count bacteria indicated that 50.6% of mixed ready-to-eat fresh herbs and 49.4% of mixed fresh-cut vegetable salads contained less than 107 cfu/g. Enterobacteriaceae and total coliform levels ranged from 3 log cfu/g to 8.3 log cfu/g. Lactic acid bacteria were present in mixed fresh-cut vegetable salads and mixed ready-to-eat fresh herbs at 5.9 log cfu/g and 4.88 log cfu/g respectively. Yeasts and molds were found in mixed fresh-cut vegetable salads and mixed ready-to-eat fresh herbs at 5.68 log cfu/g and 5.78 log cfu/g respectively. Yeasts and molds at ≤ 5 log cfu/g were recovered from 42.7% (38 of 89 samples) and 40% (34 of 85 samples) of mixed fresh-cut vegetable salads and mixed ready-to-eat fresh herbs respectively. While 19.1% of mixed fresh-cut vegetable salads and 27.8% mixed ready-to-eat fresh herbs contained E. coli, only 6.3% of all samples were contaminated with the microorganism at ≥2 log cfu/g. E. coli O157:H7 was detected in mixed fresh-cut vegetable salads and mixed ready-to-eat fresh herbs with an incidence of 6.5% and 11.4% respectively. Staphylococcus aureus was found in 94.9% of samples, whereas coagulase-positive staphylococci were detected in 23.6% of samples. Our results also exhibited that 9.4% of mixed ready-to-eat fresh herbs and 5.6% of mixed fresh-cut vegetable salads were contaminated with Salmonella spp.

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