6. Conclusion
The results of this study indicate that the contamination of fresh fruits and vegetables with bacteria at levels representing a risk to public health is rare in the Canadian marketplace. This finding suggests that food safety practices carried out by the different players along the food supply chain, from agricultural practices by the farmers to handling practices by the food distributors and vendors are generally good. Contamination of produce with bac- terial pathogens such as Salmonella and L. monocytogenes occurs only very sporadically, which is still unacceptable as it represents a food safety risk.