New Day In Food Safety

Looking back through history, growers and processors of food have changed with the times as food safety concerns arose. When certain chemicals were deemed too risky for exposure to humans, they have been banned. The EPA and FDA continue to scrutinize different compounds effects on people in their approval processes.

Foodborne illness has been on the radar with producers and consumers for years, but it was often associated more with meats than produce. That’s changed in recent years after numerous outbreaks of sickness due to pathogens on produce including lettuce and spinach. To address the issue, the National Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) Program was established in 1999. Its goal is to reduce microbial risks in fruits and vegetables by developing a comprehensive Extension and education program for growers and packers.

The GAPs program is funded by USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service and FDA. The program is based at Cornell University, and it has collaborators in 26 states across the nation.

Part Of Doing Business

So are GAPs necessary on the farm today? The numbers suggest that produce growers will have to tackle this issue head on. Florida tomato growers stepped up to the plate this year to become the first in the country in the produce arena to impose mandatory GAPs on their industry. Florida’s leafy greens industry is on a similar path.

For years, educational programs have encouraged people to eat more fruits and vegetables in their diets. Between 1970 and 1997, the U.S. total per capita annual consumption of fruits and vegetables increased by 24%, from 577 to 718 pounds. That’s good for growers and America’s health, but it makes food safety in produce all the more important, because with increased consumption comes more chances for exposure.

According to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there has been a significant increase over the past few decades in foodborne illness, finding an average of 15,000 cases reported annually in the U.S. from 1988 through 2002. However, that number may be much higher because of under reporting or misdiagnosis. Today, an increasing percentage of the cases are being associated with produce.

Starts On The Farm, Ends At Home

The GAPs program offers a number of publications and educational materials that growers can utilize to help reduce the risk of microbial contamination. A good overview can be found in the publication Food Safety Begins On The Farm: A Grower’s Guide. It can be located on the GAPs Web site at www.gaps.cornell.edu.

The publication lays out an extensive description of how contamination can occur, along with steps to avoid the problem. It also provides recommendations on record keeping to prove GAPs are being followed and suggests mechanisms for trace back if problems arise.

At the end of the day, food safety starts on the farm and the GAPs provide a good guide for growers, but responsibility for food safety must be taken throughout the chain all the way to the consumer level. While foodborne illness will never be totally eliminated, a focused commitment from everyone involved will greatly reduce its occurrence.