Module 1 – Introduction to Produce Safety

Slide 5 - The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)

• FDA Fact Sheet. Background on the Food Safety Modernization Act.

Slide 7 - FSMA Produce Safety Rule

• Resource documents to help growers and packers determine whether they will be covered or exempt from FSMA regulations
• FSMA Inflation Adjusted Cut Offs (Note: Updated annually in March.)
• Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
• FDA Fact Sheet. "Rarely Consumed Raw" Produce
• Standards for Produce Safety: Coverage and Exemptions/Exclusions for 21 Part 112

Slide 8 - FSMA Produce Safety Rule Compliance

• Table adapted from the Southern Center for Training, Education, Extension, Outreach, and Technical Assistance to Enhance Food Safety. FSMA Produce Safety Rule Compliance Dates and Timeline. 
• Food and Drug Administration. (1998). Guidance for Industry: Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables.
• Food and Drug Administration. (2019). Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption; Extension of Compliance Dates for Subpart E.  

Slide 9 - Outbreaks Associated with Produce

• The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). (2013). Produce Outbreak Data. Prepared by CORE Post Response Team on January 13, 2013.
• D'Lima, C., & Vierk, K. (2011). Memorandum to the Record. In: Produce Related Outbreaks and Illnesses. Food and Drug Administration.
• Merriweather, S., Cloyd, T.C., & Gubernot, D. (2015). Memorandum to the File — Produce Related Outbreaks and Illnesses 2011–2014. In: Produce Related Outbreaks and Illnesses. Food and Drug Administration.
• FDA Factsheet. Why doesn’t this rule only target fruits and vegetables that are known to have caused outbreaks of foodborne illness?

Slide 10 - Microorganisms of Concern in Fresh Produce

• FDA Bad Bug Book

Slide 12 - Bacteria

• 2006 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in spinach
• 2011 Listeria monocytogenes outbreak in cantaloupes
• 2014 Salmonella outbreak in bean sprouts

Slide 13 - Conditions for Bacterial Growth

• Iowa State University Extension and Outreach: Lesson 4 Food Safety—FATTOM
• Food and Drug Administration. (2011). Fish and fishery products hazards and controls guidance. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
• Food and Drug Administration. (2012). The Bad Bug Book Foodborne Pathogenic Microorganisms and Natural Toxins. 2nd Edition. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
• Sugiyama, H., & Yang, K.H. (1975). Growth potential of Clostridium botulinum in fresh mushrooms packaged in semipermeable plastic film. Appl Microbiol, 30(6),  964–969.

Slide 14 - Viruses

• 2003 Hepatitis A outbreak in green onions
• Norovirus Collaborative for Outreach, Research, and Education (NoroCORE)
• EPA Registered Hospital Disinfectants Effective Against Norovirus
  • Special note: The sanitizers/disinfectants listed in the above resource are not suitable for food contact surfaces, but could be used in other areas, such as restrooms. 
• Indirect food additives: adjuvants, production aids, and sanitizers. Subpart B—Substances Utilized To Control the Growth of Microorganisms, 21 C.F.R. Section 178.1010 (2015).

Slide 15 - Parasites

• 2004 Cyclospora in snow peas traced back to Guatemala
• Hollyer, J.R., Toegner, V.A., Cowie, R.H., Hollingsworth, R.G., Nakamura-Tengan, L.C., Castro, L.F. & Buchholz, A.E. (2010). Best On-Farm Food Safety Practices: Reducing Risks Associated with Rat Lungworm Infection and Human Eosinophilic Meningitis. University of Hawai’i at Manoa - Food Safety and Technology, FST-39. 

Slide 16 - Health Impacts by Pathogen Type

• Beuchat, L.R. (1996). Pathogenic microorganisms associated with fresh produce. J Food Prot, 59(2), 204–216.
• Scallan, E., Hoekstra, R.M., Angulo, F.J., Tauxe, R.V., Widdowson, M.A., Roy, S.L., Jones, J.L., & Griffin, P.M. (2011). Foodborne illness acquired in the United States—major pathogens. Emerg Infect Dis, 17(1), 7–15.
• Scallan, E., Griffin, P.M., Angulo, F.J., Tauxe, R.V., & Hoekstra, R.M. (2011). Foodborne illness acquired in the United States—unspecified agents. Emerg Infect Dis, 17(1), 16.
• Sivapalasingam, S., Friedman, C.R., Cohen, L., & Tauxe, R.V. (2004). Fresh produce: a growing cause of outbreaks of foodborne illness in the United States, 1973 through 1997. J Food Prot, 67(10), 2342–2353.

Slide 17 - Produce Safety Challenges

• Beuchat, L.R. (2002). Difficulties in eliminating human pathogenic microorganisms on raw fruits and vegetables. In XXVI International Horticultural Congress: Horticulture, Art and Science for Life-The Colloquia Presentations, 642, 151–160.
• Fatemi, P., LaBorde, L.F., Patton, J., Sapers, G.M., Annous, B., & Knabel, S.J., (2006). Influence of punctures, cuts and apple surface morphologies on penetration and growth of Escherichia coli O157:H7. J Food Prot, 69(2), 267–275.

Slide 18 - Contamination Sources

• Beuchat, L.R. (2002). Ecological factors influencing survival and growth of human pathogens on raw fruits and vegetables. Microb Infect, 4(4), 413–423.
• Park, S., Szonyi, B., Gautam, R., et al. (2012). Risk factors for microbial contamination in fruits and vegetables at the pre-harvest level: a systematic review. J Food Prot, 75(11), 2055–2081.
• Strawn, L.K., Fortes, E.D., Bihn, E.A., et al. (2013). Landscape and meteorological factors affecting prevalence of three food-borne pathogens in fruit and vegetable farms. Appl Environ Micro, 79(2), 588–600.

Slide 19 - How Contamination Is Spread: Humans

• Todd, E., Greig, J.D., Bartleson, C.A., & Michaels, B.S. (2009). Outbreaks where food workers have been implicated in the spread of foodborne disease. Part 6. Transmission and survival of pathogens in the food processing and preparation environment. J Food Prot, 72(1), 202–219.

Slide 20 - How Contamination Is Spread: Soil Amendments

• Jiang, X., Morgan, J., & Doyle, M.P. (2002). Fate of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Manure-Amended Soil. Appl Envir Micro, 68(5), 2605–2609.
• Erickson, M.C., et al. (2014). Examination of factors for use as potential predictors of human enteric pathogen survival in soil. J Appl Micro, 116(2), 335–349.

Slide 21 - How Contamination Is Spread: Animals

• Jay, M.T., Cooley, M., Carychao, D., et al. (2007). Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Feral Swine near Spinach Fields and Cattle, Central California Coast. Emerg Infect Dis, 13(12), 1908–1911.
• Islam, M., Doyle, M.P., Phatak, S.C., Millner, P., & Jiang, X. (2004). Persistence of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 in soil and on leaf lettuce and parsley grown in fields treated with contaminated manure composts or irrigation water. J Food Prot, 67(7), 1365–1370.

Slide 22 - How Contamination Is Spread: Water

• Bihn, E.A., Smart, C.D., Hoepting, C.A., & Worobo, R.W. (2013). Use of Surface Water in the Production of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables: A Survey of Fresh Produce Growers and Their Water Management Practices. Food Prot Trends, 33(5), 307–314.
• Mootian, G., Wu, W.H., Matthews, K.R. (2009). Transfer of Escherichia coli O157:H7 from soil, water, and manure contaminated with low numbers of the pathogen to lettuce plants. J Food Prot, 72(11), 2308–2312.

Slide 24 - Cleaning vs. Sanitizing

• Schmidt, R. (2009). Basic Elements of Equipment Cleaning and Sanitizing in Food Processing and Handling Operations. University of Florida/IFAS Extension.

Slide 26 - Steps Towards Produce Safety

• Bihn, E.A., Schermann, M.A., Wszelaki, A.L., Wall, G.L., & Amundson, S.K. (2014). Farm Food Safety Decision Trees.

Slide 28 - Implementing Practices to Reduce Risks

• University Contacts PSA website | GAPs website

Slide 30 - Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

• Bihn, E.A., Schermann, M.A., Wszelaki, A.L., Wall, G.L., & Amundson, S.K. (2014). Farm Food Safety Decision Trees. How to write an SOP.