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The Risk of Today's Fresh Produce

By Pritzker | Ruohonen

The past year has seen its share of recalls due to contamination by foodborne pathogens. Scientists and government officials note that the pure number of outbreaks has not significantly increased in the past few years, but there is concern in the variety of products affected by contamination.

According to Florida Today,

"It's been a little bit of a roller coaster the past 10 years," said Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the division of food-borne bacterial and mycotic diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "I am struck that I am seeing new food vehicles. New foods are a problem. Spinach was a new one. And peanut butter, there's a surprise. Also the Veggie Booty, or vegetarian snack food."

"One of the big issues of the day is fresh produce," said Michael Doyle, director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia. "Produce is where the action has been in the last few years, and there are a lot of reasons for it. One is a greater interest by consumers in eating fresh foods uncooked, and cooking serves a very important purpose of killing harmful bacteria."

"We've been consuming more produce, which is a good thing from a nutritional standpoint," he added. "But along with that, there have been issues with harmful microbes being present."

The contamination of the nation’s produce has risen due to the growth of the American agricultural industry.  More and more frequently, cattle lots are being located next to produce fields.  In the presence of wild animals and water flow, dangerous pathogens normally associated with farm animals are being spread to produce, probably through cattle or boar manure.

California has recently become the hotbed for produce contamination. Still the nation’s leading supplier of produce and wine, California has now surpassed Wisconsin as the biggest dairy state.  Vineyards, farms, and dairies are in constant competition for land in California, locating themselves next to each other increasing risk for contamination between products.

The growing size of the agricultural industry and the formation of mega-farms, mega-distribution centers, and mega-transporters has also ensured that if a product does become contaminated, the contamination will spread on a massive scale.

"Once you start to have larger and larger units and these bigger and bigger companies, any contamination incident automatically gets much worse by orders of magnitude," said Michael Hansen, a senior scientist with Consumers Union. "Before, it was just bad produce coming from one farm."

With the looming danger of massive foodborne illness outbreaks in the nation’s produce, critics target the government for not properly overseeing the emerging mega-agricultural industry. However, it is important for consumers and governments officials alike to be aware of the dangers of fresh produce and to acknowledge the forces that have pushed illness risks to these heightening levels.

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on February 12, 2008 (boomark / email).