5 tips to Stay Out Of The News: A food science professor offers advice on how to keep foodborne illnesses out of your produce

摘要

GROWERS live in fear of being the source of an outbreak, and recently, with traceability and awareness at an all-time-high, the dangers of one misstep are all too obvious. Last year alone E. coli sickened 15 people and killed one in Oregon. The culprit? Strawberries resold to roadside stands and farm markets. Other memorable incidents include the 2009 Norovirus outbreak in Finland, affecting more than 900 people who purchased frozen raspberries imported from Eastern Europe, and the 1998 Cyclospora parasites that sickened 1,000 people in Canada and the U.S. The common thread in all of these stories? Berries. A notoriously difficult crop to keep in tip-top shape, they require a lot of handling, and with the soft skin that makes them so tender, even the most innocent of bumps and bruises can become a vector for predatory bacteria.