This article originally appeared in The Produce News Feb. 8, 2023, and is reprinted here with permission. © 2023 The Produce News.
Referenced CPS research:
- Rock 2019: Agriculture Water Treatment – Southwest Region
- Sanchez Moragas 2019: Occurrence and accumulation of potentially infectious viruses in process water and impact of water disinfection practices to minimize viral cross-contamination
- Allende 2022: Produce surface treatments based on bacteriophages and bacteriocin-producing cultures to consistently reduce 2-log of Listeria monocytogenes on leafy greens and pre-cut fruit and vegetables
- Deng 2019: Possibility, duration, and molecular predictors of sanitizer tolerance in Listeria monocytogenes
- Ryser 2018: Fate of different Listeria monocytogenes strains on different whole apple varieties during long-term simulated commercial storage
- Dawson 2019: Verification and validation of environmental monitoring programs for biofilm control in the packinghouse
- Phan-Thien 2020: CPS Rapid Response - Investigation of potential preharvest and postharvest treatments targeting Salmonella spp. risk reduction on peach in Australia
- Ortega 2019: The prevalence of Cyclospora in water and produce
- Mattioli 2019: Sources and prevalence of Cyclospora cayetanensis in Southeastern US water sources and growing environments
- Mis Solval 2020: Using low-cost smartphone-based infrared cameras to evaluate cooling and storage conditions of fresh produce
- Upadhyay 2020: Application of ultra-fine bubble technology to reduce Listeria monocytogenes contamination of fresh produce
- Diez-Gonzalez 2020: Control of Listeria monocytogenes in processing/packing plants using antimicrobial blue light (aBL)
Fridman 2019: Post-Harvest Fresh Produce Wash Water Disinfection by Submerged Cold Plasma Non-Chemical Continuous Treatment System
by Center for Produce Safety
From academia to government to foreign research institutions, Center for Produce Safety-funded investigators have diverse expertise. Together, they are generating results the fresh produce industry can use to minimize food-safety risks.
In 2021, CPS-funded researchers completed 13 projects on important topics from treating agricultural water and process water — to controlling Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp. and Cyclospora — to investigating new technologies such as smartphone-based infrared cameras, ultra-fine bubble technology, antimicrobial blue light and cold plasma. CPS invested over $3.3 million in these projects.
At Spain’s Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology, Gloria Sánchez led development of tests to detect enteric viruses in fresh-cut produce wash water. She and colleagues then used the tests to screen three commonly-used wash water sanitizers. Two sanitizers — chlorine and chlorine dioxide — proved effective at inactivating viruses.
Sánchez praised CPS’s advisory technical committee for guiding her group to ensure their research had real-world applications. “Sometimes what happens from a research point of view, our priorities and our ways of thinking are really far away from conditions in the industry,” she said.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Mia Mattoli looked for Cyclospora cayetanensis in Georgia irrigation water and production environments. Good news, they found none in farm ponds or on produce, and only low levels in area sewage sludge.
“I think the goal is to make sure the waste system stays separate from our food system, and we keep those water lines distinct,” Mattoli said, “and I think that’s what we’ve seen.”
While her project complements Cyclospora research conducted in other U.S. regions, Mattoli warned, “I think coming up with over-arching solutions that apply to the entire U.S. may not be the best approach, but that doesn’t mean that some of the learnings can’t be helpful.”
At the same time, Clemson University’s Paul Dawson modeled growth patterns and transfer of Listeria biofilms in stone fruit packinghouses. He credits CPS for helping him obtain unrestricted access to sample the facilities, which was essential to his work.
Dawson’s team found fruit wax does not prevent biofilm growth, and chlorine proved to be an ineffective biofilm sanitizer at temperatures common to packinghouses. In a follow-up study under way in 2022, he plans to create a user-friendly Excel program that will predict optimum Lm sampling times and sanitation schedules.
While no two farms, packinghouses or processors are the same, the array of CPS research projects offers options from which the entire industry can choose to best meet its needs.
This article was reprinted with permission from Center for Produce Safety’s 2021 annual report, released in August 2022. For more information about CPS and its work to fund science, find solutions and fuel change in fresh produce food safety, visit www.CenterforProduceSafety.org.