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Fresh produce - Potential Risk for Consumers

May 29, 2003

Vegetables are good examples of minimally processed foods with high risk of contamination and therefore good hygienic measures have to be taken during the production from farm to table. The nature and extent of the health hazards involved in the production and preparation of foods will be considered in depth at the FEMS Congress of European Microbiologists to be held in Ljubljana, Slovenia from June 29th to July 3rd. 2003.

The world has seen significant changes in eating habits and consumption of fresh produce is increasingly becoming important in the diet of many people, especially indicated by the increased demand for organically produced foods. In the production and processing of fresh produce quality and hygiene are the most important criteria for the consumers. Such food products are often eaten raw or with minimal processing and, if contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, may represent a health hazard to consumers. Several surveys of food-borne pathogens and indicator bacteria have been carried out and showed that pathogens can be found, often in small amounts, in these products. Some work has been done on survival and transfer of most emerging pathogens.

Contamination of vegetables may take place at all stages during production and processing and possible source can be soil, faeces, water and ice, animals, handling of the products, harvesting and processing equipment, and transport. Soil fertilised with farm manure or sewage waste may represent a risk of spreading of different pathogens e.g., E.coli O157, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes. Faecally contaminated water that is used for irrigation and washing of products prior to processing may also be a source of these food-borne pathogens.

Survival of the E.coli O157 up to 21 months in ovine manure stored outside under fluctuating climatic conditions suggest that soil fertilised with such manure can become also the source for vegetables contamination. Salmonella has been detected in vegetables from farms, a wholesale market, supermarkets and small shops. The prevalence of Salmonella spp. in vegetables is very low in some countries e.g. Norway, a situation that can be linked to an absence of salmonellae in Norwegian livestock. However, in some countries high concentrations of salmonellae have occurred. L. monocytogenes is the pathogenic bacterium that can be more frequently isolated from vegetables and has been involved in one of the bigger Listeria outbreaks originating from raw cabbage used in coleslaw. However, L. monocytogens is not found so often from some type of vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and tomatoes, and has led to the speculation that less contact with soil by these vegetables during the growth phase may account for this.

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