American Journal of Life Science Researches www.worldofresearches.com 282 October, 2015 © 2015, World of Researches Publication Am. J. Life. Sci. Res. Vol. 3, Issue 4, 282-286, 2015 ISSN: 2332-0206 (Online) ISSN: 2375-7485 (Print) Preliminary Study of Bacterial Isolates from Indigenous Ready – To – Eat Salad Vegetables Chikodili Gladys Anaukwu*, Goodluck Onyinyechukwu Ugwuoke,, Ikechukwu Amaechi Ekwealor, Onyedika Clifford Okafor,, Kingsley Chukwuebuka Agu Department of Applied Microbiology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. *Corresponding author: chikodili Gladys Anaukwu. INTRODUCTION The consumption of fresh vegetables is increasing as consumers strive to eat healthy diets and benefit from the year-round availability of pre-cut salad items. Salad vegetables belong to convenient, minimally processed food of ready-to-eat type. Minimal processing technologies are non-thermal technologies of food processing, which means that the final product is comparable with the original raw material in terms of freshness, naturalness and nutritional value 1 . Salad vegetables carry a natural non-pathogenic epiphytic microflora, the majority of which consists of Gram negative bacteria belonging to enterobacteriaceae . Enterobacteriaceae levels of   7 /g must indicate a risk factor needing control 2 .As salads are usually consumed without any pre-heat treatment , therefore the possibility of food poisoning exist 3 . During salad preparation, raw vegetables are injured through peeling, slicing or shredding and these operations can transfer pathogenic microorganisms if present on the surface of the fresh vegetables into the product 4 . Necessary food safety controls which include proper washing and handling of the vegetables during preparation need to be strictly adhered 5 . The main objective Abstract: Introduction: Salad is a mixture of fresh vegetables and cream, which is an important source of nourishment. Salad vegetables belong to convenience, minimally processed food of ready-to-eat type. An increase in consumption of fresh vegetables has been paralleled by an increase in the number of food borne illness attributed to fresh products. Aim: This study is aimed at identifying bacteria associated with ready – to - eat salad vegetables. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Bacterial isolates associated with ready – to – eat salad vegetables from Fast – food joints in Awka , Anambra state were investigated. Biochemical tests were carried out to identify the isolates. Antibiotic susceptibility test to Amoxicillin, Augmentin, Cotrimoxazole, Gentamicin, Ofloxacin and Tetracycline was carried out. Results: Seventeen of the bacterial organisms recovered were found to be Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. Based on the biochemical characteristics of the isolates, they were identified as Staphylococcus aureus , Escherichia coli , Serratia marcescens , Pseudomonas sp. and Enterobacter sp. From the experimental observation, Staphylococcus aureus and Serratia marcescens occurred most , with the frequency of 41.2% and 23.5% respectively. The Mean bacteria count ranges from 2.0×105 Cfu/g to 1.5 106 Cfu/g. Serratia marcescens was recovered in four out of the six samples investigated, followed by Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas sp., which occurred in three of the salad samples. Antibiotic susceptibility result revealed that all the bacterial isolates except E. coli and Enterobacter sp. were susceptible to all the tested antibiotics. Overall susceptibility was highest against ofloxacin with 17(100%) while the least was recorded against cotrimoxazole with 6(35.3%). Conclusion: The identified bacteria have pathogenic potential and their presence in the ready-to-eat salad vegetables pose risk of food poisoning. High standards of personal hygiene and pre-processing disinfection should always be observed during preparation of the vegetable salad. Keyword: Salad vegetables, Antibiotic susceptibility, Bacteria, Ready-to-eat, Awka