Food Protection Trends - April 2012 - (Page 164)

ARTICLES Copyright© 2012, International Association for Food Protection 6200 Aurora Ave., Suite 200W, Des Moines, IA 50322-2864 Food Protection Trends, Vol. 32, No. 4, Pages 164–172 Consumer Vegetable a nd Fruit Washing Practices in the United States, 2006 and 2010 LINDA VERRILL,1* AMY M. LANDO1 and KELLIE M. O’CONNELL2 1 U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740, USA; 2U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, 3101 Park Center Drive, Alexandria, VA 22302, USA INTRODUCTION ABSTRACT Vegetables and fruits may become contaminated with pathogens anywhere along the farm-to-plate continuum.Therefore, the FDA recommends that vegetables and fruits that have not already been washed be washed by the consumer before slicing or consuming them. The FDA included in its 2006 and 2010 Food Safety Survey a series of questions about purchasing and washing of strawberries, tomatoes, cantaloupes, and bagged, pre-cut lettuce. The Food Safety Survey is a telephone survey tracking consumers’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviors related to food safety. In 2006, of those who buy these products, 98% wash strawberries, 97% wash tomatoes, 57% wash cantaloupes and 54% wash bagged pre-cut lettuce. Overall, for both years, more women than men wash cantaloupes, and more men than women wash bagged pre-cut lettuce. Cantaloupe washing declined from 2006 to 2010 for men, while lettuce washing increased for women in the same period. Targeted education campaigns should emphasize the importance of washing produce, especially fruits with hard rinds. A peer-reviewed article *Author for correspondence: Phone: +1 240.402.1765; Fax: +1 301.436.2637 E-mail: Linda.verrill@fda.hhs.gov Fresh vegetable and fruit consumption in the United States increased 19% from 1970 to 2005 (48) and is projected to continue to increase through 2020 (20). Vegetables and fruits play a major role in contributing to a healthful diet, and consumption of these products is therefore encouraged (39). While the incidence of human pathogens on fresh produce is very low (7, 12, 22), products sometimes become contaminated somewhere along the continuum from the farm to the consumer’s plate. Indeed, vegetables and fruits have recently been implicated in several large, multi-state foodborne illness outbreaks and food recalls in the United States (11, 40, 42, 43, 45). Foodborne pathogens such as Norovirus and Salmonella cause an estimated 47.8 million illnesses and 3,037 deaths per year in the United States (25, 34, 35). Consumers can help to mitigate the risk of becoming ill from contaminated produce by applying principles of safe food handling, including washing using recommended methods and avoiding cross-contamination (4, 15, 24, 27). To wash produce, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that consumers use a vegetable brush to scrub firm-skinned produce while holding it under running water (44, 46) and wash 164 FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS | APRIL 2012 http://www.foodprotection.org/files/food-protection-trends/Apr-12-Verrill.pdf

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - April 2012

Food Protection Trends - April 2012
Sustaining Members
Food for Thought from Your President
Commentary from the Executive Director
Consumer Vegetable and Fruit Washing Practices in the United States, 2006 and 2010
Sanitizer Efficacy against Escherichia coli O157:H7 Biofilms on Inadequately Cleaned Meat-contact Surface Materials
Highlights from the Dubai International Food Safety Conference
New Members
What’s Happening in Food Safety
Industry Products
General Information
Registration Information
Committee Meetings Schedule
Preliminary Program
Ivan Parkin Lecture
John H. Silliker Lecture
Exhibitors
Special Contributors and Sponsors
Coming Events
Advertising Index
Journal of Food Protection Table of Contents
Booklet Order Form
Membership Application

Food Protection Trends - April 2012