Using laboratory- and field-based trials to understand environmental microbial food safety issues associated with raw agricultural commodities

Abstract

This document outlines pre-harvest food safety challenges, recent U.S. multistate outbreaks, and routes of contamination linked to fresh produce. There are numerous field trials and laboratory studies that will be presented, producing a strong foundation for effective environmental food safety research. In the sections to follow, a review of production practices will be discussed. Soil amendments, irrigation, and harvesting may increase the potential for foodborne outbreaks including bacterial pathogen survival and transmission to water, soil and plant milieu. This project attempts to encompass all of these issues into one document to further important understand factors involved in cross-contamination of produce in production areas. In turn, this project hopes to generate a guidebook to reduce the burden of foodborne illness associated with fruits and vegetables.