Cucumbers are high in water and low in calories, fat, cholesterol, and sodium and are high in antioxidants which allow your body to function optimally.
Reports from USA and few European countries indicate that cucumbers have been detected containing Listeria organisms.
Macroscopically, check the colouration and you can use 3M kits, fasting method as mentioned by Eshak.
There is NO easy way to check for the presence of listeria, certainly not in a "home" environment. Under such conditions the best thing, of course, is to extensively wash the food item an/or cook it.
There are NO fast ways to reveal the presence of listeria even in the lab; most take a minimum of 48 hours. Here are a couple of links:
Article Rapid detection and identification methods for Listeria mono...
https://www.romerlabs.com/en/analytes/food-pathogens/listeria/
Hope this helps!
Dear Ladislav Dory, your answer is an eye opener, I wonder if the organisms inside the cucumber can be washed away.
The bacteria is NOT inside the fruit. It usually gets on the fruit during storage (even under cold conditions). There is really no way bacteria find a way inside the fruit.
You can benefit from the following links.
Zhu Q, Gooneratne R, Hussain MA. Listeria monocytogenes in Fresh Produce: Outbreaks, Prevalence and Contamination Levels. Smith CJ, ed. Foods. 2017;6(3):21. doi:10.3390/foods6030021.
Ajayeoba TA, Atanda OO, Obadina AO, Bankole MO, Adelowo OO. The incidence and distribution of Listeria monocytogenes in ready‐to‐eat vegetables in South‐Western Nigeria. Food Science & Nutrition. 2016;4(1):59-66. doi:10.1002/fsn3.263.
Thanks Dear Entedhar Sarhat, the links are indeed helpful in understanding this topic.
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