Processing of leafy vegetables matters: Damage and microbial community structure from field to bag

Leafy vegetables undergo abiotic and biotic stresses, a series of processing steps that cause mechanical injury. Breaching the epidermis alters phyllosphere structural nutrient conditions, resulting in successional shifts leaf microbiota entry human pathogens. This study examined damage during baby leaves (Swiss chard, spinach) concomitant microbial events. Machine-harvesting, washing, packaging caused major perturbations, with increasing levels damage. Older showed most damage, but plant species was influential. Diversity estimates bacterial fungal communities revealed post-harvest, particularly after washing step. Relative abundance Pseudomonadaceae Enterobacteriaceae increased from field to bag. Bacterial specific different harvesting replaced core species. While is unavoidable, procedures mitigate can enhance shelf-life food safety.