Making Produce Safer

Although U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines cannot guarantee food safety, consumers deserve the latest information about potential risks associated with store-bought produce. Producers must also educate themselves about specific handling practices that minimize the risks to consumers, including field preparation, harvest, distribution, and worker hygiene. Interventions to remove contamination from fresh produce are limited; therefore, prevention is essential.

Virginia Tech, in collaboration with Cornell University and North Carolina State University, has established the Good Agricultural Practices program, which trains farmers in ways to prevent pathogenic contamination of their food crops. Williams has conducted farm assessments on the Eastern Shore of Virginia to collect data on production practices for tomato crops. This data can provide the produce industry with updated procedures that will help reduce crop contamination and offer guidance for future regulatory measures.

In 2007, Williams participated in FDA’s Tomato Safety Initiative (TSI), a collaborative effort between FDA, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Virginia Department of Health, and Virginia Tech. The project assessed tomato production and handling practices with special attention to the levels of implementation of the Good Agricultural Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices programs.

The group met at the Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and Extension Center and visited several tomato producers throughout all phases of production (planting, growing, and harvesting). The TSI group also visited packinghouses and observed washing, sorting, and packing of tomatoes. According to Williams, these visits were used to assess current fresh tomato production practices in Virginia, with the ultimate goal to strengthen Extension programs for fresh tomato producers.

Preliminary results from TSI revealed a significant need for more research in the area of fresh fruit and vegetable safety; many answers are needed before an overhaul of the production industry can proceed. However, two important recommendations have already emerged from TSI. First, due to findings that contaminated water may play a major role in the contamination of fresh produce, growers have increased their focus on water quality. Second, the industry has refocused efforts to improve the hygiene of workers who come in contact with fresh produce.