Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
During 2005-2006, four large multistate outbreaks of
Salmonella
infections associ-
ated with eating raw tomatoes at restaurants occurred in the U.S., resulting in 459
culture - confi rmed cases of salmonellosis in 21 states. Investigations determined that
the tomatoes had been supplied to restaurants either whole or precut from tomato fi elds
in Florida, Ohio, and Virginia (CDC 2007).
Allwood and colleagues (2004) examined 40 items of fresh produce taken from
a retail setting in the U.S. and that had been preprocessed (including cut, shredded,
chopped, or peeled) at or before the point of purchase. They found fecal contamination
indicators (
E. coli
, F - specifi c coliphages, and noroviruses) were present in 48% of
samples.
Researchers in Minnesota conducted a small-scale comparative study of organic
versus conventionally grown produce. They found that although all samples were
virtually free of pathogens,
E. coli
was 19 times more prevalent on produce acquired
from the organic farms (Mukherjee and others 2004). They estimated that this was
due to the common use of manure aged for less than a year. The use of cattle manure
was found to be of higher risk because
E. coli
was found 2.4 times more often on
farms using it rather than other animal manures (Mukherjee and others 2004).
Industry Efforts/Regulation
The current state of risk-based food safety systems suggests that food producers follow
HACCP-based programs, employing the strategy to its limits where applicable (U.S.
National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods 1999). There are
a variety of generic and specifi c guidelines for safe fresh fruit and vegetable produc-
tion in North America. These programs are generally based on HACCP and many are
also based on the U.S. FDA's Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables published in 1998. It has been suggested that produce
farmers follow risk-based guidelines. The U.S. National Advisory Committee on
Microbiological Criteria for Foods (1999) suggests that that although HACCP should
be used, not enough is known about the vectors of contamination. Programs need to
be fl exible, but still based on what is known. They also suggest that a formal HACCP
system is too rigid for the farm, but the principles can still be applied to reduce risk.
Translating HACCP-based strategies to the farm has resulted in a set of generic guide-
lines described as good agricultural practices (GAPs) and include the following (U.S.
Food and Drug Administration 1998; Beuchat and Ryu 1997; Powell and others 2002;
Luedtke and others 2003 ):
•
Equipment maintenance program
•
Sanitation program within facilities/packing areas
•
End - of - season cleaning
•
Washroom facilities
•
Employee training
•
Pest control program
•
Storage maintenance program
•
Transportation program
•
Microbiological sampling
