Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
16
Plant Sanitation and Good
Manufacturing Practices for Optimum
Food Safety in Fresh-Cut Produce
Edith H. Garrett
Introduction
Since the middle of the 20th century, fresh-cut vegetables have been staples for food
preparation in restaurants. In the late 1980s, during a boom of new restaurant expan-
sion in the U.S., several fast-food chains expanded their lines of fresh-cut produce by
creating single-serve salads with multiple fresh vegetable ingredients combined in one
bag. Not only was this product innovative and challenging to package to sustain a
2-week shelf life, but food-service buyers also demanded implementation of strict
sanitation and food safety procedures to protect the public. Thus began the fresh- cut
produce industry's quest to fi nd the “Holy Grail of sanitation.”
Across the country, fresh-cut produce processors initiated an aggressive effort to
fi nd food safety procedures that could be applied to fresh-cut produce. They formed
their own trade group, the International Fresh-cut Produce Association (IFPA), which
had a mission to support the industry in the production of safe, wholesome products.
Because there was no other one-stop shopping reference on food safety for produce,
the association took on the project themselves. In 1990, Professor William Hurst at
the University of Georgia, Department of Food Science, led a team of experts in
writing the fi rst version of the
Food Safety Guidelines for the Fresh-cut Produce
Industry
for the IFPA. Before the association merged with the United Fresh Produce
Association (UFPA) in 2007, the fourth edition of this document had been published
and edited by Dr. James R. Gorny, the IFPA's Technical Director, and other members
of the association's technical committee. To date, the fourth edition is the most com-
prehensive publication focusing on food safety in fresh-cut produce and it can be
purchased by contacting the UFPA (Gorny 2001).
This chapter is designed to cover the important topics, which have been identifi ed
by the industry and regulators, that must be included in a comprehensive food safety
program for a fresh-cut produce facility. Many publications and research papers have
been published on unique food safety technologies for the fresh-cut industry, but the
basic standards for food safety for fresh-cut are no different from those for other food-
processing environments. Good manufacturing practices and sanitation procedures are
equally applicable in all food-processing plants.
Product Risk Assessment
One of the fi rst steps in determining what kind of food safety procedures apply in a
fresh-cut facility is to determine the risk associated with the products being prepared,
especially the incoming raw products and ingredients. The National Advisory
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