The Produce Contamination Problem: Causes and Solutions

This book is organized into five sections beginning with an introduction in which the problem is described in terms of the number and size of produce related outbreaks, the commodities involved, and the human pathogens involved. The introduction also documents the failure of conventional sanitizing treatments to assure microbiological safety examining the problems of microbial attachment. The second section reviews methods of identifying a contamination source (epidemiology, trace back, strain identification, location of Source) and then focuses on the various sources of microbial contamination (water, manure, airborne dust, wildlife, human activity) and where in the crop production sequence they might result in contamination. In the third section, some of the commodities associated with major outbreaks (leafy vegetables, tomatoes, cantaloupes, apples, berries, sprouts) are examined to determine what characteristics make them especially vulnerable to contamination. The fourth section then addresses means of avoiding produce contamination through use of Good Agricultural Practices and recommendations in FDA and industry guidance documents. Regulatory actions (recalls, restrictions on imports) to safeguard the public from potentially hazardous products are described. Coverage includes policy and practices in the US, Mexico and Central America, Europe and Japan. The fifth section examines current technologies for reducing human pathogens in fresh produce including disinfection, rapid methods for detecting contaminants, irradiation, gas-phase application and best practices acceptable to organic growers, packers and processors.

Understanding the causes and contributing factors leading to outbreaks of foodborne illness associated with contamination of fresh produce continues to be a worldwide challenge for everyone-from the growers of fresh-cut produce through the entire production and delivery process. Additionally, researchers are facing an increased challenge to develop means of preventing these foodborne illness occurrences. The premise ofThe Produce Contamination Problem is that once human pathogen contamination of fresh produce has occurred, it is extremely difficult to reduce pathogen levels sufficiently to assure microbiological safety with the currently available technologies based on washing with sanitizing agents. A wiser strategy would be to avoid crop production and handling conditions that result in microbial contamination to start. These critical, problem-oriented chapters have been written by researchers active in the areas of food safety and microbial contamination during production, harvesting, packing and fresh-cut processing of horticultural crops, and were designed to provide methods of contamination avoidance.

This book will be invaluable for researchers and professionals in academic, professional and government settings faced with addressing this continuing challenge. Coverage includes policy and practices in the US, Mexico and Central America, Europe and Japan.

KEY FEATURES: *Addresses foodborne contaminations from a prevention view, providing proactive solutions to the problems *Covers core sources of contamination and methodologies for identifying those sources

*Includes best practice and regulatory information

*Explains limitations of conventional decontamination technologies, and examines prospects for more effective interventions

*Focuses on commodities with a history of involvement in foodborne illness