Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
contamination on produce in the fi eld? During sorting, packing, processing, and in
the fi nished, packaged product?
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What role can in - fi eld mobile testing labs play in improving speed, effi ciency, and
accuracy of microbial testing?
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How can detection and testing tools developed for food safety be adapted for use
in agroterrorism or food defense scenarios?
•
What monitoring and testing program would detect amplifi cation of pathogens
between harvesting, sorting, and processing or packaging?
•
Can accurate and rapid testing methods be developed for products with a short shelf
life?
•
Can communication and information sharing among growers, processors, retailers,
and regulators be improved? Are current communication and information-sharing
procedures adequate for produce recalls, traceback, and source identifi cation?
•
Are current labeling practices suffi cient to facilitate traceback and recall of produce
commodities? Can Radio Frequency Identifi cation (RFID) or other enhanced tech-
nology labeling be used as an effective risk reduction tool?
Eradication
Changing industry standard practices to eradicate pathogen contamination will include
improved cleaning and sanitizing procedures as well as other chemical treatments
(Ch. 9), improved thermal and nonthermal physical treatments (Ch. 10, 12, 13, 14),
and advanced research on biological control measures (Ch. 11). The following are
some of the critical questions pertaining to
eradication:
•
Can current processing systems be modifi ed to reduce risks of cross-contamination?
Can water fl umes be replaced by belts, air beds, or other systems?
•
Can aqueous chemical treatments be improved by modifi cation to gas-phase
treatments?
•
Can a combination of treatments, similar to hurdle technologies used in other food-
processing applications, be used to reduce pathogen contamination of fruits and
vegetables?
•
Can the tools of molecular biology from the study of microbial ecology and biofi lm
formation also be used to develop new interventions that inhibit or prevent pathogen
attachment to fruits and vegetables?
•
Can plant pathology and plant breeding tools be used to develop fruits and vegeta-
bles that are “resistant” to human pathogens?
•
How can new nonthermal processes (pulsed light, pulsed UV, high pressure process-
ing, cold plasma, radio frequency treatment, etc.) be adapted for use with produce?
•
Are biological controls suitable for use in controlling or eliminating human patho-
gens? Can phage technology be used as a pre- or postharvest intervention
strategy?
•
What are the barriers to the adoption of irradiation to produce other than leafy
greens? How can these be addressed?
•
Aside from irradiation, are there additional antimicrobial processes that are effective
against protected pathogens, such as those that are internalized or that are associated
with biofi lms?
