Academic Press The Produce Contamination Problem: Causes and Solutions (Food Science and Technology)

Understanding the causes and contributing factors leading to outbreaks of food-borne illness associated with contamination of fresh produce continues to be a worldwide challenge for everyone from the growers of fresh-cut produce through the entire production and delivery process. Additionally researchers both at universities and in government agencies are facing an increased challenge to develop means of preventing these foodborne illness occurrences. The premise of this book is that when human pathogen contamination of fresh produce occurs, it is extremely difficult to reduce pathogen levels sufficiently to assure microbiological safety with the currently available technologies. A wiser strategy would be to avoid crop production conditions that result in microbial contamination to start. These critical, problem-oriented chapters have been written by researchers active in the areas of food safety and microbial contamination during production, harvesting, packing and fresh-cut processing of horticultural crops, and were designed to provide methods of contamination avoidance. Coverage includes policy and practices in the US, Mexico and Central America, Europe, and Japan. *Addresses food-borne contaminations from a prevention view, providing proactive solutions to the problems *Covers core sources of contamination and methodologies for identifying those sources *Includes best practice and regulatory information Review Prevent produce contamination before it occurs. From the Back Cover Understanding the causes and contributing factors leading to outbreaks of foodborne illness associated with contamination of fresh produce continues to be a worldwide challenge for everyone-from the growers of fresh-cut produce through the entire production and delivery process. Additionally, researchers are facing an increased challenge to develop means of preventing these foodborne illness occurrences. The premise of The Produce Contamination Problem is that once human pathogen contamination of fresh produce has occurred, it is extremely difficult to reduce pathogen levels sufficiently to assure microbiological safety with the currently available technologies based on washing with sanitizing agents. A wiser strategy would be to avoid crop production and handling conditions that result in microbial contamination to start. These critical, problem-oriented chapters have been written by researchers active in the areas of food safety and microbial contamination during production, harvesting, packing and fresh-cut processing of horticultural crops, and were designed to provide methods of contamination avoidance. This book will be invaluable for researchers and professionals in academic, professional and government settings faced with addressing this continuing challenge. Coverage includes policy and practices in the US, Mexico and Central America, Europe and Japan. KEY FEATURES: *Addresses foodborne contaminations from a prevention view, providing proactive solutions to the problems *Covers core sources of contamination and methodologies for identifying those sources *Includes best practice and regulatory information *Explains limitations of conventional decontamination technologies, and examines prospects for more effective interventions *Focuses on commodities with a history of involvement in foodborne illness About the Author Karl R. Matthews teaches graduate courses in Microbial Food Safety and Food Biology Fundamentals. He has received several awards, including: Lifetime Achievement Award in Phyllosphere Biology, Amity University; Outstanding service – Online Mentor Award, American Society for Microbiology and Endel Karmas Award for Excellence in Teaching. He’s been an editorial board member on several journals and is currently the Editor of the Journal of Food Safety, a position he has occupied since 2004.