Supplementary Reading Sampling Produce for Pathogens:Import Survey Completed, Domestic Begun

A “1,000-sample survey” of imported produce, under which FDA investigators collected and analyzed samples of broccoli, cantaloupe, celery, cilantro, culantro, loose-leaf lettuce, parsley, scallions, strawberries and tomatoes for Salmonella and E.coli 0157:H7 (and in most cases for Shigella), was completed in FY 2000.

Of 1,003 samples, 96 percent were not contaminated with any of the three pathogens.Of the 44 contaminated samples (4 percent), 35 were contaminated with Salmonella and 9 were contaminated with Shigella.None was contaminated with E.coli 0157:H7.

“Results varied greatly depending on the commodities being tested,” Beru says.“This kind of objective information provides invaluable science-based support for how we target our surveillance of imported produce.”

Based on violative samples, 21 firms were placed on restricted importation, called detention without physical examination (DWPE).(Some of those firms were later removed from DWPE based on evidence that the problematic conditions had been resolved.)

In FY 2000, FDA followed up on the imported survey by initiating in May a complementary 1,000-sample assignment for domestic produce.Like the imported-produce assignment, the goals of the domestic project are to collect baseline information on pathogens in produce and to conduct regulatory follow-up, including at the grower level, when positive samples occur.The assignment calls for the collection of 125 samples each of the following products:cantaloupes, celery, cilantro, loose-leaf lettuce, parsley, scallions, strawberries and tomatoes.All of the samples will be analyzed for E.coli 0157:H7 and Salmonella, and most products will also be analyzed for Shigella.

The survey results will help the agency appropriately focus surveillance, research and educational efforts to lessen the risk of foodborne disease.Because these products are not grown in a sterile environment, the goal is to minimize microbial contamination to the greatest extent possible.

Also in FY 2000, FDA assisted USDA’s National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS)in conducting a fruit and vegetable agricultural practices survey that will establish a baseline of grower and packer practices.Survey results will be available in FY 2001.Followup surveys will provide a measure of the degree of adoption of FDA’s “Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables.”

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COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.What was completed in FY 2000 by FDA investigators?

2.How many percent of all the samples were not contaminated with pathogens?

3.Why were 21 firms placed on restricted importation?

4.What are the goals of the domestic project?

5.What bacteria are to be analyzed in the project?

6.Why does the agency has to try to minimize microbial contamination to the greatest extend possible?