Salad vegetables are essential part of people’s diet all around the world. They are usually consumed raw and often
without heat treatment or thorough washing; hence have been known to serve as vehicles for the transmission of
pathogenic microorganism associated with human diseases. Fresh samples of lettuce, carrot and cucumber collected
from different markets and vendors in Abuja Municipal Area Council, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria were evaluated
for bacterial loads using spread plate agar dilution method. Bacterial loads ranged from 1.6 x 106
to 2.9 x 108
cfu/g.
Escherichia coli, Klebsiella and Enterobacter were amongst the coliforms (lactose fermenters), while Proteus,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella and Shigella were non-lactose fermenters associated with the samples.
Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from majority of the samples