Internalisation of human pathogenic enterobacteria into edible vegetables

Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica are considered two of the most serious food-borne bacteria. These pathogens are able to adapt to a wide variety of environments and can enter the food chain at any point. Over recent time there have been a number of notable, large-scale outbreaks associated with fresh fruit and vegetables. Both pathogens are zoonoses and commonly associated with animals, but we have proposed that EHEC and S. enterica can colonise plants and use them as alternative hosts (Holden et al., 2009).