Scientific Criteria to Ensure Safe Food (2003) / Chapter Skim
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6 Scientific Criteria and Performance Standards to Control Hazards in Produce and Related Products
6 Scientific Criteria and Performance Standards to Control Hazards in Produce and Related Products
Pages 197-224
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From page 197... ...
Because of advances in agronomic practices, preservation technologies, shipping practices, and improved cold-chain management, global production and distribution of fresh fruits and vegetables have increased. Through innovative packaging systems and improved marketing and merchandising strategies, consumers can choose from an average of 345 different produce items in a typical retail food store (Litwak, 1998~.
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From page 198... ...
. Although fresh fruits and vegetables have recently been associated with foodborne disease outbreaks, these products were not thought to be common causes of foodborne illnesses in the United States; instead, they were considered to be relatively safe foods (NRC, 1985~.
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From page 199... ...
An in-depth analysis of published outbreak investigations by a panel of experts (IFT, 2001) revealed that outbreak data has linked the following pathogenic organisms with the consumption of specific produce commodities: Clostridium botulinum with cabbage salad; Campylobacter jejuni with salad and lettuce; Escherichia cold 0157:H7 with spring mix, lettuce, seed sprouts, and cantaloupe; Listeria monocytogenes with cabbage salad; Shigella spp.
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From page 200... ...
Although the incidence of foodborne illness linked to produce is still low, produce-associated illnesses erode consumer confidence in the safety of fresh fruits and vegetables and cause concern about the risk attributable to the consumption of these foods. There are still many questions about the transmission of microorganisms from their potential reservoirs to fruits and vegetables, including knowledge about any vectors that may be involved in this process.
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From page 201... ...
or sometimes used at low concentrations; possibly poor quality apples, some dropped apples used, apple orchard near cattle/deer Raspberries imported from Guatemala, mesculun lettuce, and products containing basil; cases were also reported in the District of Columbia and two Canadian provinces Strawberries from Mexico distributed through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Commodity Program for use in school lunches Tomatoes traced to two packers in Florida; possible field contamination by domestic or wild animals Imported parsley, probably contaminated during washing after harvest Unpasteurized orange juice produced in Mexico and bottled in the United States Sprout seeds were believed to come from the same lot and distributed to various growers in California, Florida, and Washington Gallon-sized containers of domestic citrus juices were implicated in the outbreak Imported mangoes, likely contaminated during treatment to kill fruit flies Imported cantaloupe, probably contaminated in the field or shortly after harvest 2002 S
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From page 202... ...
Several guidance documents that address GAPs have been developed and widely disseminated by government agencies, growers, shippers, processor trade associations, and academia (IFPA, 2001~. Some of these publications include the Voluntary Food Safety Guidelines for Fresh Produce, published by the Inter
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From page 203... ...
This document sets forth eight principles of microbial food safety that can be applied to the growing, harvesting, packing, and transportation of fresh fruits and vegetables, as follows: 1. The prevention of microbial contamination of fresh produce is favored over reliance on corrective actions once contamination has occurred.
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From page 204... ...
system has long been recognized as the most effective and flexible system for assuring the microbiological safety of a variety of foods, there have been few attempts to integrate the various steps associated with the production and processing of fresh produce into a farm-to-table HACCP system. Several HACCP plans have been developed for sprouted seeds, shredded lettuce, and tomatoes (Rushing et al., 1996)
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From page 205... ...
The information obtained from the data program will be used to establish "benchmarks" for evaluating the efficacy of procedures to prevent or reduce contamination of fresh fruits and vegetables with harmful microorganisms (AMS, 2001~. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE,JUICES Background Similar to whole fruits, fruit juices were historically considered to present minimal risks to health.
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From page 206... ...
In one outbreak implicating orange juice, toads in the orange groves were thought to be the source of Salmonella, while a general lack of sanitation in the plant was thought to have contributed to the extent of the outbreak (Cook et al., 1998; Parish, 1998~. Likewise, foodborne disease outbreaks implicating raw apple juice were uncommon prior to the 1990s.
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From page 207... ...
of the pertinent microorganism, which is defined as "the most resistant microorganism of public health significance that is likely to occur in the juice." The identification of this microorganism
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From page 208... ...
However, these processors must have a HACCP plan in place that includes the scheduled thermal process with their hazard analysis. Similarly, juice processors who only sell directly to consumers (e.g., food service or retailers)
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From page 209... ...
Patulin is only slightly reduced by thermal processing; therefore, it will be mostly unaffected by pasteurization of apple juice (McKinley and Carlton, 1991~. The Codex Alimentarius is developing a draft Code of Practice for the Reduction of Patulin Contamination in Apple Juice and Apple Juice Ingredients in Other Beverages, which will be discussed at the 2003 meeting of the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants.
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From page 210... ...
for E cold Biotype I in orange juice.
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From page 211... ...
The 50 ,ug/kg action level for patulin in apple juice, juice concentrates, and apple juice products was identified by FDA on the basis of a safety assessment (OPDFB, 2000) that agreed with the independent evaluation conducted at the international level by the FAD/WHO Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA, 1996~.
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From page 212... ...
In 1963, outbreaks of botulism associated with commercially smoked fish and with canned tuna (because of contamination through faulty seals) and canned liver paste (due to underprocessing because of an improperly calculated thermal process)
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From page 213... ...
botulinum is recognized in the regulations as the most heat-resistant microorganism of public health significance, and the accepted minimum process to ensure safety is one that achieves a 12-D reduction in the number of spores of this microorganism in the food of interest (Stumbo, 1973~. For acidified low-acid foods, defined as having a pH of 4.6 or below after equilibration, the key control parameter is the acidification step rather than the thermal process.
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From page 214... ...
was generally used by the canning industry to establish equivalent processes at other temperatures. Esty and Meyer were attempting to achieve maximum levels of spore populations in their preparation that, in other experiments, ranged from 1 x 106 to 1 x 109.
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From page 215... ...
The D-value concept is still widely used to calculate thermal processes. However, the basic assumption that thermal inactivation of microbial spores or vegetative cells follows first-order kinetics (is linear)
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From page 216... ...
part 114, should be sufficient to prevent botulism in these products. SPROUTS As a result of several disease outbreaks associated with the consumption of sprouts, FDA published a guidance document recommending that sprout producers proceed as follows: (1)
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From page 217... ...
FOOD DEFECT ACTION LEVELS The need to establish some type of defect levels for fruits and vegetables was recognized soon after passage of the 1906 Federal Food and Drug Act (Merrill and Hutt, 1980~. Defect Action Levels were established by FDA as maximum levels of natural or unavoidable defects in foods for human use that present no health hazard (CFSAN, 1998~.
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From page 218... ...
Evidence indicating that such a violation exists causes the food to be adulterated, even though the amounts of natural or unavoidable defects are lower than the currently established defect action levels. FDA recommends that food manufacturers, distributors, and holders utilize quality control operations that reduce natural or unavoidable defects to the lowest level currently feasible.
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From page 219... ...
The committee believes that although the number and size of foodborne disease outbreaks associated with specific fresh produce or juice items will, in the future, offer a means of tracking progress in prevention, attributing changes in disease incidence to any specific factor continues to be a challenge because multiple confounding factors and safety measures are being implemented in parallel. The committee reiterates its belief that, because of the multiple confounding factors, there is a need to develop a framework that allows for the timely sharing of data from surveillance programs on microbial contamination in specific food groups (in this case, fresh and fresh-cut produce and related products such as juices)
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From page 220... ...
1996. Outbreak of Escherichia cold 0157:H7 infections associated with drinking unpasteurized commercial apple juice British Columbia, California, Colorado, and Washington, October 1996.
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From page 221... ...
1998. Guidance for Industry Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables.
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From page 222... ...
1997. Voluntary Food Safety Guidelines for Fresh Produce.
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From page 223... ...
1998. Coliforms, Escherichia cold and Salmonella serovars associated with a citrusprocessing facility implicated in a salmonellosis outbreak.
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From page 224... ...
1987. Clostridium botulinum spore germination, outgrowth and toxin production below 4.6: Interactions between pH, total acidity and buffering capacity.
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