{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T12:32:23Z","timestamp":1792067543648,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":59,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785369600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Aurora Incentive and Collaborative Research Projects [KA1-Bloom-Digest, 2025]"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The present work focuses on the microbial characterisation of edible flowers intended solely for aesthetic purposes. This market segment is especially critical. In fact, due to the limited resilience to mechanical shocks, edible flowers are rather difficult to wash. All analysed samples exhibited substantial microbial loads, dominated by Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, coliforms, yeasts, and moulds. Refrigerated storage (5 days at 4 \u00b0C) resulted in a marked and consistent increase in microbial populations, as confirmed by multivariate analysis, which identified storage as the primary driver of microbial dynamics. Primary foodborne pathogens were not detected; however, several bacterial species with opportunistic pathogenic potential, including Pseudomonas juntendi, Enterobacter asburiae, Ralstonia mannitolilytica, and Pantoea agglomerans, were identified in pansies, while Pseudomonas aeruginosa was detected in snapdragon. Multivariate analyses further revealed that in addition to storage, flower type and production source contributed to variability in microbial composition. Moreover, colour-based analysis indicated that corolla colour may influence microbial profiles, with differences becoming more pronounced after storage in pansies and already detectable at purchase in snapdragons. Overall, these findings demonstrate that ornamental edible flowers can have high and dynamic microbial populations, with storage conditions representing the dominant factor influencing microbial proliferation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods15152697","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T16:15:00Z","timestamp":1785428100000},"page":"2697","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Microbiological Safety of Ornamental Edible Flowers"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Ivan","family":"Ciliberti","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Assunta De","family":"Lella","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno (IZS), 80055 Portici, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0156-7538","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna","family":"Ard\u00e9vol","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Molecular Bioactivity of Foods (MoBioFood), Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 43007 Tarragona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8534-3146","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sanja","family":"\u0106avar Zeljkovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Czech Agrifood Research Center (CARC), \u0160lechtitel\u016f 29, 78371 Olomouc, Czech Republic"},{"name":"Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palack\u00fd University Olomouc, \u0160lechtitel\u016f 27, 78371 Olomouc, Czech Republic"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francesco","family":"De Marco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francesco","family":"Corvino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2287-3633","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lucia","family":"De Luca","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6770-0595","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria","family":"Aponte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7555-0486","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Raffaele","family":"Romano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9265929","DOI":"10.1155\/2024\/9265929","article-title":"Lesser-explored edible flowers as phytochemical sources","volume":"2024","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int. J. Food Sci."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"108660","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodres.2019.108660","article-title":"Edible flowers: Processing and extraction of bioactive compounds","volume":"126","author":"Zhao","year":"2019","journal-title":"Food Res. Int."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e70012","DOI":"10.1111\/jfpe.70012","article-title":"Role of ultrasound application in the production, processing, and preservation of edible flowers: A review","volume":"47","author":"Benimana","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Food Process. Eng."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"129","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fct.2018.07.007","article-title":"Are wild and cultivated flowers served in restaurants or sold by local producers in Denmark safe for the consumer?","volume":"120","author":"Egebjerg","year":"2018","journal-title":"Food Chem. Toxicol."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S130","DOI":"10.1080\/10408398.2015.1078276","article-title":"Phytochemical content, health benefits, and toxicology of common edible flowers: A review (2000\u20132015)","volume":"56","author":"Lu","year":"2016","journal-title":"Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"11","DOI":"10.1007\/s13197-024-06071-4","article-title":"Edible flowers\u2019 flavor, safety and their utilization as functional ingredients: A review","volume":"62","author":"Chetia","year":"2025","journal-title":"J. Food Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111926","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lwt.2021.111926","article-title":"Preliminary assessment of microbial quality of edible flowers","volume":"150","author":"Lewandowska","year":"2021","journal-title":"LWT"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113969","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scienta.2025.113969","article-title":"Chemical composition of edible flowers","volume":"341","author":"Ragasova","year":"2025","journal-title":"Sci. Hortic."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"139077","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodchem.2024.139077","article-title":"Novel strategies for enhancing quality stability of edible flowers during processing using efficient physical fields: A review","volume":"448","author":"Feng","year":"2024","journal-title":"Food Chem."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101356","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijgfs.2025.101356","article-title":"The challenge of a scientific definition for the term \u201cedible flowers\u201d","volume":"42","author":"Oberholzer","year":"2025","journal-title":"Int. J. Gastron. Food Sci."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Carboni, A.D., Di Renzo, T., Nazzaro, S., Marena, P., Puppo, M.C., and Reale, A. (2025). A comprehensive review of edible flowers with a focus on microbiological, nutritional, and potential health aspects. Foods, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/foods14101719"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"38","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfca.2017.03.017","article-title":"Edible flowers: A review of the nutritional, antioxidant, antimicrobial properties and effects on human health","volume":"60","author":"Fernandes","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Food Comp. Anal."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pig\u0142owski, M., and Niewczas-Dobrowolska, M. (2023). Hazards in plant origin products reported in RASFF. Sustainability, 15.","DOI":"10.3390\/su15108091"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"670","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tifs.2019.07.017","article-title":"Edible flowers. Benefits and risks pertaining to their consumption","volume":"91","author":"Matyjaszczyk","year":"2019","journal-title":"Trends Food Sci. Technol."},{"key":"#cr-split#-ref_15.1","unstructured":"European Parliament and Council (2005). Regulation"},{"key":"#cr-split#-ref_15.2","unstructured":"(EC) No 396\/2005 of 23 February 2005 on maximum residue levels of pesticides in or on food and feed of plant and animal origin and amending Council Directive 91\/414\/EEC. Off. J. Eur. Union, L70, 1-16."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"418","DOI":"10.1007\/s00248-011-9942-4","article-title":"Microbial diversity inside pumpkins: Microhabitat-specific communities display a high antagonistic potential against phytopathogens","volume":"63","author":"Furnkranz","year":"2012","journal-title":"Microb. Ecol."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ruiz Rodriguez, L.G., Mohamed, F., Bleckwedel, J., Medina, R., De Vuyst, L., Hebert, E.M., and Mozzi, F. (2019). Diversity of lactic acid bacteria from wild flowers. Front. Microbiol., 10.","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2019.01091"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e17061","DOI":"10.1111\/jfpp.17061","article-title":"Phytochemical profile and food applications of edible flowers: A comprehensive treatise","volume":"46","author":"Faisal","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Food Process. Preserv."},{"key":"ref_19","first-page":"173","article-title":"Yielding and quality of lavender flowers from organic cultivation","volume":"13","author":"Mordalski","year":"2014","journal-title":"Acta Sci. Pol. Hortorum Cultus"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e221111","DOI":"10.2903\/j.efsa.2024.e221111","article-title":"Chemical and microbial risk assessment of wild edible plants and flowers","volume":"22","author":"Carpena","year":"2024","journal-title":"EFSA J."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"373","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodchem.2018.01.102","article-title":"Chemical composition of edible flowers as new sources of bioactive compounds","volume":"252","author":"Periago","year":"2018","journal-title":"Food Chem."},{"key":"ref_22","unstructured":"(2006). Microbiology of Food and Animal Feeding Stuffs\u2014Bacillus cereus Determination (Standard No. ISO 21871)."},{"key":"ref_23","unstructured":"(2017). Microbiology of the Food Chain\u2014Detection of Salmonella spp. (Standard No. ISO 6579-1)."},{"key":"ref_24","unstructured":"(2017). Microbiology of the Food Chain\u2014Detection of Listeria monocytogenes (Standard No. ISO 11290-1)."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"697","DOI":"10.1128\/jb.173.2.697-703.1991","article-title":"16S ribosomal DNA amplification for phylogenetic study","volume":"173","author":"Weisburg","year":"1991","journal-title":"J. Bacteriol."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4153","DOI":"10.1093\/nar\/21.17.4153","article-title":"A simple method for preparing plant samples for PCR","volume":"21","author":"Wang","year":"1993","journal-title":"Nucleic Acids Res."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"109956","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijfoodmicro.2022.109956","article-title":"Stuck or sluggish fermentations in home-made beers: Beyond the surface","volume":"383","author":"Aponte","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int. J. Food Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2957","DOI":"10.1093\/bioinformatics\/btr507","article-title":"FLASH: Fast length adjustment of short reads","volume":"27","author":"Salzberg","year":"2011","journal-title":"Bioinformatics"},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"581","DOI":"10.1038\/nmeth.3869","article-title":"High-resolution sample inference from Illumina amplicon data","volume":"13","author":"Callahan","year":"2016","journal-title":"Nat. Methods"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100312","DOI":"10.1016\/j.afres.2023.100312","article-title":"A Review on the journey of edible flowers from farm to consumer\u2019s plate","volume":"3","author":"Jadhav","year":"2023","journal-title":"Appl. Food Res."},{"key":"ref_31","first-page":"20076","article-title":"Outbreak of salmonellosis after a wedding party, Bavaria, Germany, summer 2010: The importance of implementing food safety concepts","volume":"17","author":"Klinc","year":"2012","journal-title":"Eurosurveillance"},{"key":"#cr-split#-ref_32.1","unstructured":"European Union (2007). Commission regulation EC no. 1441\/2007 of 5 December 2007 amending Regulation"},{"key":"#cr-split#-ref_32.2","unstructured":"(EC) 2073\/2007 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs. Off. J. Eur. Union, L322, 12."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"558","DOI":"10.1007\/s10661-019-7733-4","article-title":"Is TBX agar a suitable medium for monitoring Escherichia coli in bathing water?","volume":"191","author":"Cenov","year":"2019","journal-title":"Environ. Monit. Assess."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"987","DOI":"10.1007\/s10068-018-0326-0","article-title":"Effect of alginate coating on the physico-chemical and microbial quality of pansies during storage","volume":"27","author":"Fernandes","year":"2018","journal-title":"Food Sci. Biotechnol."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2455","DOI":"10.1111\/ijfs.13530","article-title":"Effect of high hydrostatic pressure on the quality of four edible flowers","volume":"52","author":"Fernandes","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. J. Food Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wei, S., Chelliah, R., Park, B.J., Kim, S.H., Forghani, F., Cho, M.S., Park, D.S., Jin, Y.G., and Oh, D.H. (2019). Differentiation of Bacillus thuringiensis using real-time PCR. Front. Microbiol., 10.","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2019.00883"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijfoodmicro.2014.11.005","article-title":"Risk ranking of pathogens in ready-to-eat unprocessed foods of non-animal origin (FoNAO) in the EU: Initial evaluation using outbreak data (2007\u20132011)","volume":"195","author":"Hald","year":"2015","journal-title":"Int. J. Food Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111477","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijfoodmicro.2025.111477","article-title":"Occurrence and identification of Bacillus thuringiensis in fresh vegetables and fruits in France","volume":"445","author":"Felten","year":"2025","journal-title":"Int. J. Food Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104077","DOI":"10.1016\/j.resmic.2023.104077","article-title":"Differentiation of Bacillus thuringiensis strains","volume":"174","author":"Trunet","year":"2023","journal-title":"Res. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"116667","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodres.2025.116667","article-title":"Harnessing the microbiota of vegetables and ready-to-eat (RTE) vegetables for quality and safety","volume":"214","author":"Alegbeleye","year":"2025","journal-title":"Food Res. Int."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"403","DOI":"10.1007\/s00284-025-04371-2","article-title":"Genomic and phenotypic characterization of Pseudomonas juntendi strain A3e","volume":"82","author":"Chaidez","year":"2025","journal-title":"Curr. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"201","DOI":"10.1055\/s-0042-1742448","article-title":"Outbreak of Ralstonia mannitolilytica infection in hemato-oncology unit: Case series and review of literature","volume":"43","author":"Chauhan","year":"2022","journal-title":"Indian J. Med. Paediatr. Oncol."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"98","DOI":"10.1007\/s00203-025-04633-4","article-title":"Pathogens without borders: Cross-kingdom transmission strategies","volume":"208","author":"Sharma","year":"2026","journal-title":"Arch. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tenover, F.C., and Tickler, I.A. (2024). Genomic analysis of Enterobacter species in hospitals. Antibiotics, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/antibiotics13090865"},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Grilli, G., Rapi, M.C., Musa, L., Di Giacinto, G., Passamonti, F., Raimondi, S., Cianca, O., and Franciosini, M.P. (2025). Looking for ESKAPE bacteria: Occurrence and phenotypic antimicrobial resistance profiles in wild birds from Italy. Antibiotics, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/antibiotics14101025"},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"943","DOI":"10.1139\/W10-082","article-title":"Comparison of microbial diversity of edible flowers and basil grown with organic versus conventional methods","volume":"56","author":"Wetzel","year":"2010","journal-title":"Can. J. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_47","first-page":"005777","article-title":"Phylogenomic analysis of the genus Rosenbergiella and description of new taxa","volume":"73","author":"Vanoirbeek","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"377","DOI":"10.1007\/s00248-022-02088-4","article-title":"Sugar concentration, nitrogen availability, and phylogenetic factors determine the ability of Acinetobacter spp. and Rosenbergiella spp. to grow in floral nectar","volume":"86","author":"Tsuji","year":"2023","journal-title":"Microb. Ecol."},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"140522","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodchem.2024.140522","article-title":"Effects of different cold plasma treatments on chemical composition, phenolics bioaccessibility and microbiota of edible red mini-roses","volume":"460","author":"Cabral","year":"2024","journal-title":"Food Chem."},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yan, B., Yan, C., Ding, Y., Cai, S., Wang, Y., Agbo, E., Xianyun, X., Qin, K., and Fu, Q. (2026). Multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections: Current status, challenges, and prospects of phage therapy. Front. Microbiol., 16.","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2025.1723885"},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2221","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(22)02185-7","article-title":"Global mortality associated with 33 bacterial pathogens in 2019","volume":"400","author":"Ikuta","year":"2022","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"435","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-ento-061720-071644","article-title":"Evolution of insect color vision","volume":"66","author":"Stavenga","year":"2021","journal-title":"Annu. Rev. Entomol."},{"key":"ref_53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1600086","DOI":"10.1002\/bies.201600086","article-title":"Multisensory integration in Lepidoptera: Insights into flower-visitor interactions","volume":"39","author":"Kinoshita","year":"2017","journal-title":"BioEssays"},{"key":"ref_54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"189","DOI":"10.1111\/plb.13767","article-title":"Flower colour contrast and spectral purity","volume":"27","author":"Spaethe","year":"2025","journal-title":"Plant Biol."},{"key":"ref_55","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Heuel, K.C., Ha\u00dflberger, T.A., Ayasse, M., and Burger, H. (2024). Floral trait preferences of three common wild bee species. Insects, 15.","DOI":"10.3390\/insects15060427"},{"key":"ref_56","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"157","DOI":"10.1046\/j.1570-7458.1999.00574.x","article-title":"Influence of floral character on hoverfly foraging behaviour","volume":"93","author":"Sutherland","year":"1999","journal-title":"Entomol. Exp. Appl."},{"key":"ref_57","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"605","DOI":"10.1002\/fft2.541","article-title":"Recent advances in detection and control strategies for foodborne bacteria in raw and ready-to-eat fruits and vegetables","volume":"6","author":"Abdelshafy","year":"2025","journal-title":"Food Front."}],"container-title":["Foods"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2304-8158\/15\/15\/2697\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]],"date-time":"2026-07-31T08:59:10Z","timestamp":1785488350000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2304-8158\/15\/15\/2697"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]]},"references-count":59,"journal-issue":{"issue":"15","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]}},"alternative-id":["foods15152697"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/foods15152697","relation":{},"ISSN":["2304-8158"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2304-8158","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]]}}}