Isolation of Enterobacteriaceae from Ready-to-Use Salad Vegetables at Hotels in Abuja FCT

Ready-to-use salad vegetables served in hotel restaurants represent a high-risk food category for enteric pathogen transmission, as they undergo minimal thermal processing and are handled by multiple staff before serving. This study isolates and characterises Enterobacteriaceae from ready-to-use salad vegetables at hotels in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory. Vegetable samples including lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, and coleslaw were collected from 12 hotels in Wuse, Maitama, and Garki districts. Samples were processed within two hours by the stomacher homogenisation method. Isolation was performed on Violet Red Bile Glucose agar and MacConkey agar, with biochemical identification of Enterobacteriaceae. Antibiotic susceptibility testing covered six clinically relevant antibiotics. Enterobacteriaceae were recovered from 61 percent of all samples. Escherichia coli was the most prevalent organism (48 percent), followed by Klebsiella oxytoca (23 percent), Enterobacter cloacae (17 percent), and Serratia species (9 percent). Salmonella species were isolated from three cucumber samples from two hotels. Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producers were confirmed in 28 percent of Klebsiella isolates. Lower contamination rates were observed in hotels with formal HACCP systems. The study recommends mandatory microbiological testing of salad vegetables by hotel food safety officers, HACCP implementation across hotel food service operations in Abuja, and periodic health inspections by FCT public health authorities. Keywords: Enterobacteriaceae, salad vegetables, hotel food safety, Abuja, HACCP