Food Protection Trends - July/August 2020 - 229

FIGURE 3. Products used for washing-disinfection of leafy greens by survey respondents.

and two did not respond. All respondents reported washing
leafy greens prior to consumption, primarily using tap water
only (n = 75), followed by water with culinary vinegar (n =
68) and water with commercial chlorine-based products (n
= 58) or bleach (n = 45). Five respondents reported using
dish soap, while 26 reported eating bagged ready-to-eat leafy
greens (Fig. 3).
Results of Pearson's chi-square test indicated the absence of
a statistically significant relationship (P ≥ 0.05) between the
demographic characteristics of participants and consumption
behavior or handling practices of leafy greens, indicating that
gender, age, marital status and educational level were not
significantly correlated with consumption patterns, choice of
shopping locations, storage conditions or washing procedures.
DISCUSSION
The available information on food consumption patterns
in Brazil are derived from limited population-based studies
or family budget surveys carried out by the Brazilian Institute
of Geography and Statistics - IBGE, designed to measure
the average availability of foods in households (12, 24). The
latest IBGE report refers to 2008-2009 and indicates that
the average consumption of leafy greens across Brazil in that
timeframe was ~25 g/day (24).
A national survey based on 53,210 telephone interviews
conducted in Brazil between February and December
2016 indicated that 35.2% of the surveyed adults above
18 years old consumed fruits and vegetables five or more
days per week (8). The Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian
Population of the Brazilian Ministry of Health do not
establish the number of servings for each type of food but
recommends daily intake of fruits and vegetables (7).

The results of our study partially corroborate previously
published data on daily intake of fresh foods. The results of
the Brazilian survey (8) indicating that 35.2% of participants
ate raw fruits and vegetables five or more days per week are
in approximate agreement with the 39.5% rate we found for
reported daily consumption of leafy greens. On the other
hand, the reported consumption levels were quite different,
as we found an average serving size of ~60 g, while the IBGE
reported a ~25 g average serving size (24). These differences
may be due to different geographical scopes, as the IBGE
report was for all Brazilians, while ours focused only on
residents of São Paulo.
The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (USA)
states that individuals requiring 2,000 calories per day should
include the equivalent of 2 cups of fruits and 2.5 cups of vegetables in their daily diets. USDA food consumption surveys have
found that the average American falls far short, consuming the
equivalent of only 0.9 cups of fruits and 1.4 cups of vegetables
per day (36). The European Freshfel Consumption Monitor
indicates that the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables
by EU citizens in 2014 was 353 grams per capita per day (192
grams of fruits and 161 grams of vegetables), a decrease of 0.75%
compared with the mean of the previous five years (2009-2013)
(21). Data from Brazil, the United States and the European
Union reveal a lower daily consumption of fruits and vegetables
than that recommended by the World Health Organization and
the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(400g/day) (39).
All respondents in our study who consumed leafy greens
reported washing them before eating (Table 2), even those
who purchased pre-washed products (Fig. 3). A 2007 U.S.
panel of scientists reviewing guidelines for consumer handling of prewashed bagged salads concluded that packaged

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