Produce Safety & Biosecurity-A Multi-State Research, Education & Extension

Education Objectives: <BR> To develop a college-level course linking food safety and security of foods against biological and chemical terrorism; <BR> To offer the course on developing and implementing food safety procedures in any phase of the fresh produce operation via distance-education methods; <BR> To assess the impact of the course that is offered. <BR> <BR> Extension Objectives <BR> To design, implement and evaluate workshops and/or short courses for fresh and fresh-cut produce management personnel that provide step-by-step guidance on developing food safety plans which incorporate food security issues; <BR> To develop a curriculum package for use by County Extension Agents and/or program assistants to teach field workers how to avoid both unintentional and intentional contamination as well as other safe handling procedures and to train County Extension Agents to implement and evaluate the curriculum for field workers; <BR> To develop curriculum components, fact sheets and assessment checklists on produce handling and safety, which can supplement existing training for the foodservice industry and to develop model criteria for certification in fruit and vegetable handling; <BR> To develop a computer module and fact sheets dealing with consumer handling of produce for use with teachers, health professionals and consumers, and can be used at health fairs, points of purchase, as well as in classroom sessions; and to train County Extension and Family and Consumer Science Agents to implement and evaluate the module.
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The security of food against terroristic threats must be considered in a comprehensive food safety program. Attention to food safety and food security should be placed at common points from food production through distribution to ensure they function to protect the consumer even against new challenges posed by intentional contamination of foods. While this strategy could be applied to any commodity, this proposal focuses on fresh and minimally processed (fresh-cut) produce. From the standpoint of food safety and food security, these products, which are typically consumed raw, pose concern since they are widely consumed, but not treated in a manner that can consistently reduce or eliminate foodborne pathogenic or chemical contaminants from the products.<BR> <BR> At this time there is a critical need to reevaluate Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) programs to ensure that they function to protect the consumers of fresh and minimally-processed produce against these new challenges. Since these programs were developed primarily with unintentional contamination problems in mind, it is now critical to reassess and evaluate potential vulnerabilities or weaknesses in these systems when considering intentional contamination of products with hazardous substances or pathogens. In this project, current GAP and HACCP plans used by the fresh produce industry will be assessed for points of vulnerability to intentional contamination. Retention of biological contaminants that could be used on fresh produce for terroristic purposes will be determined. A multi-university course linking food safety and security of foods against biological and chemical terrorism will be developed. Appropriate educational programs will be designed and implemented to train produce industry personnel, Extension Agents, healthcare professionals and consumers focusing on food safety and food security of produce.
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Today the security of food from biological and chemical threats must be considered in a comprehensive food safety program. While the American food supply is still one of the safest in the world, there is a potential for security breaches to occur, and food consumers to suffer illness and death. The effectiveness of treatments to reduce the level of pathogen or toxin contamination on produce will be determined. Information on produce safety and biosecurity will be disseminated through education and Extension activities.