Microbiological quality and safety of minimally processed fruits in the marketplace of southern Portugal

The availability of fresh-cut fruit (FCF) in the marketplace has been increasing in Portugal, although reports of its microbial quality are not known. Due to the growing concerns of these commodities over their microbial safety, the objectives of this work were to study the microbiological quality and prevalence of Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes on fresh-cut fruits sold in southern Portugal. A study to examine the changes in pH and microbial counts, before and after the expiration dates, was also made. A total of 160 samples was purchased in the local grocery stores between September 2011 and August 2014, before their sell-by date. These samples were assayed for aerobic mesophilic (AM) and psychrotrophic (AP) microorganisms, yeasts and molds (YM), lactic-acid bacteria (LAB), coliforms (TC), Escherichia coli and coagulase positive staphylococci as well as L. monocytogenes and Salmonella. The microbiological counts ranged from 3.0-9.2 lg cfu/g (AM); 2.2–10.7 lg cfu/g (AP); 2.3–10.4 lg cfu/g (YM); 1.9–9.0 lg cfu/g (LAB) and less than 1–9.1 lg cfu/g (TC). The melons and watermelon presented the highest levels of the microbial quality parameters studied. However, no E. coli, staphylococci, Salmonella and L. monocytogenes were detected in any of the samples. After the sell-by date, an increase of the AM, AP, LAB and YM values was observed in all fruits. Conversely, the differences found in TC counts before and after the best-before date had no statistical significance. A decrease in pH was observed in all fruits except pineapple whose pH slightly increased after 14 days of storage. The results highlight the importance of preventing contamination and cross contamination, selecting adequate decontamination technologies and maintaining a strict temperature control during processing, distribution and selling of FCF.

‘A true feeling of authentic portuguese golf'? The discursive construction of the Algarve region in portuguese golf websites

In an increasingly competitive global marketplace, the need for golf destinations to differentiate themselves from competitors has become more critical than ever. This paper raises questions about the promotional strategies employed by the golf sector in the Algarve, focusing on internet communication strategies, since this medium has become the biggest driving force towards the commoditisation of all aspects of the tourism experience. By offering a complementary perspective to the field of (critical) tourism studies, and drawing on a qualitative, multi-modal discourse analysis, this work-in-progress looks at the particular ways that representations and images presented on the Algarve golf websites constitute and frame identities (of people and places) and socio-spatial relationships. This paper analyses a corpus of 45 texts collected from official websites of the 40 Algarve golf courses and from five entities which promote the Algarve as a golf destination, along with the golf images that are displayed alongside them. Findings point to salient discursive and visual representations of a global setting enjoyed by the global elite. Whereas the courses‟ positioning in relation to their regional competitors draws on similar discursive strategies which reflect those used in tourism advertising discourses in general – e.g. reiteration of explicit comparisons, superlatives and hyperbolic statements -, representations of local emplacedness are not salient; in some cases local place seems to have been almost intentionally suppressed.