Features of Improving the Safety of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

• covers current research on identifying and controlling food hazards
• addresses major hazards including pathogens and pesticide residues
• presents techniques for controlling hazards, including HACCP and risk assessment
• analyzes the range of decontamination and preservation processes
• written by an international team of contributors

Part 1 reviews the major hazards affecting fruit and vegetables such as pathogens and pesticide residues. Building on this foundation.

Part 2 discusses ways of controlling these hazards through such techniques as HACCP and risk assessment.

Part 3 analyses the range of decontamination and preservation techniques available, from alternatives to hypochlorite washing systems and ozone decontamination to good practice in storage and transport.

CONTENTS

Part 1: Identifying Risks

Pathogens in vegetables

• Human pathogens associated with vegetables
• Characteristics of pathogens recovered from salad vegetables
• Sources of contamination in the vegetable production chain
• Interaction of human pathogens with growing vegetables
• Implications for control

Pathogens in fruit

• Pathogens in particular types of fruits
• Mechanisms of surface contamination
• Mechanisms of internal contamination
• Implications for control

Measuring microbiological contamination in fruit and vegetables

• Food-borne pathogens and postharvest microbiological spoilage of fresh fruits and vegetables
• Methods of detection and quantification of food-borne pathogens
• Traceability and subtyping of food-borne pathogens

Pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables

• Pesticide use
• Pesticide residue regulation
• Pesticide residue monitoring in fruits and vegetables
• Risk assessment

The rapid detection of pesticide residues

• Detecting pesticides: physicochemical methods
• Detecting pesticides: biological methods
• The principles of biosensors
• Developing low-cost biosensors
• Using biosensors: pesticide residues in grain, fruit and vegetables

Part 2: Managing Risks

Risk management in the supply chain for fresh fruit and vegetables

• The supply chain for fresh and minimally-processed fruits and vegetables
• Quality and risk management in the supply chain
• Critical points in the supply chain

Good agricultural practice and HACCP in fruit and vegetable cultivation

• Perspectives on food quality and safety
• Food safety and the grower
• Good Agricultural Practice
• The Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point system
• HACCP and GAP development

Implementing on-farm food safety programs in fruit and vegetable cultivation

• Systems controlling foodborne illnesses
• Existing guidelines and OFFS programs for fresh fruit and vegetables
• Adoption of OFFS – grower perceptions, practical solutions, experiences from the field
• Examples from food safety network on-farm food safety research
• Conclusions; best practices for an ideal OFFS program for fresh fruit and vegetables. References
• Appendix 1 - A summary of on-farm food safety Programs or guidelines for fresh fruit and vegetables worldwide

Alternatives to pesticides in fruit and vegetable cultivation

• Alternative tactics of pest management
• Integration of alternative pest management tactics
• Safety of alternative methods

Improving the safety of organic vegetables

• Organic agriculture
• Standards and regulations
• Safety risks from vegetables
• What is known about safety of organic vegetables?
• Managing bacteriological risks
• Managing risks from mycotoxins

Part 3: Preservation Techniques

Alternatives to hypochlorite washing systems for the decontamination of fresh fruit and vegetables

• Standardised approach to biocide testing
• The use of alternative compounds to hypochlorite
• Strengths and weaknesses of alternative treatments

Ozone decontamination of fresh fruit and vegetables

• Decontamination of fruits and vegetables
• Ozone as a sanitizer
• Combination of ozone with other decontamination techniques
• Drawbacks of using ozone
• Future prospects of ozone use in the food industry

Irradiation of fresh fruit and vegetables

• Scope of irradiation
• Advantages and limitations of food irradiation
• Effects of irradiation on fruit and vegetables
• Analytical detection methods for irradiated fruit and vegetables
• Some specific application of irradiation for fruit and vegetables
• Future of irradiation in fruit and vegetables

Thermal treatments of fresh fruit and vegetables

• Technologies
• Effect on host and pathogen
• Heat transfer kinetics
• Practical applications and costs

Antimicrobial films and coatings for fresh fruit and vegetables

• Antimicrobial coatings for fresh fruit and vegetables
• Recommendations

Modified atmosphere packaging and the safety and quality of fresh fruit and vegetables

• Background information
• Factors that affect fresh produce shelf life
• Effects of MAP on fresh produce microbial growth and safety
• Effects of novel MAP gases on fresh produce quality and safety

Natural antimicrobials for preserving fresh fruit and vegetables

• Compounds of plant origin
• Volatile compounds
• The “oxidative stress” and the control of postharvest pathogens
• Compounds of microbial and animal origin
• Additive and synergistic combinations
• Extent of take-up by industry

Consumer risk in storage and shipping of raw fruits and vegetables

• Precooling technology
• Storage technology
• Shipping.

Combined preservation techniques for fresh fruit and vegetables

• Water activity, microbial growth, death and survival
• Combinations of water activity reduction with other preservation factors
• Strengths and weaknesses
• Calculations involved in the adjustment of aw of high moisture fruits

Index

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