1. Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Growers New England Extension Food Safety Partnership Project funded by USDA CSREES - Agency Number-005111109723, Project Number 2000-05389 Micro Talk

2. GAP: Micro 101

3. Foodborne Illness: The Symptoms Nausea Vomiting Diarrhea Headache Fever

4. Foodborne Illness: People at Greatest Risk  Infants & Children  Elderly  People with weakened immune systems

5. Foodborne Illness (2010): Dangers Cases:48 million per year Hospital:128,000 per year Deaths:3,000 per year Cost:Billions per year

6. Foodborne illness: How you get sick from food 5 Steps Illness Ingestion Contamination Food Mishandling

7. Foodborne Illness: Most likely sources Ready to Eat Foods Potentially Hazardous Foods

8. Food Safety Hazards: 3 Types of Contamination PhysicalChemicalBiological

9. Physical Food Safety Hazards  Wood  Plastic  Metal  Glass  Hay, grass  Tools  Gloves, bandages, pens and other personal items

10. Chemical Food Safety Hazards  Cleaning chemicals, sanitizers  Lubricants, other plant chemicals  Pesticides  Heavy metals, such as lead  Allergens, such as milk protein  Toxins, such as patulin

11. Biological Food Safety Hazards  Parasites  Viruses  Bacteria

12. Biological Hazards Parasites Cyclospora cayetanensis Cryptosporidium parvum Giardia lamblia

13. Biological Contamination Viruses Hepatitis A Norwalk virus Rotavirus

14.  Animals (manure and manure, animal living spaces, carcasses)  People (food handlers, pickers, packers, and consumers)  Environment (contaminated water, air, plants) Sources of Biological Contamination

15. Bacteria from Animals Salmonella - millions of cases of FBI each year  Source:Intestinal tract of animals and humans  Foods:Raw and undercooked eggs Undercooked poultry Fruits and vegetables

16. Bacteria from Animals E.coli O157-H7 - Can produce deadly toxins in you Source: Intestinal tract of animals (cattle) and humans Foods: Raw and undercooked ground beef Produce Apple cider

17. Bacteria from People Shigella Source:Human hands Foods:Produce Salads Milk and dairy products

18. Bacteria from the Environment Listeria monocytogenes Source:Soil, water, animals Foods:Raw vegetables Unpasteurized milk and cheese Raw and undercooked meat

19. To Grow, Bacteria Need: Neutral pH Acid Alkaline 0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 4.6 5.0 6.0 6.4 7.0 8.0 8.5 9.0 10.0 11.0 12.0 13.0 14.0 Limes Pickles Vinegar Commercial Mayonnaise Apples Beef, Veal Pork Carrots, Pumpkins Sweet Potatoes Chicken Milk Corn Distilled Water Soda Crackers Egg White

20. To Grow, Bacteria Need: Moisture Water Activity Dry Egg Noodles Crackers Flours Candy Jams & Jellies Meats Poultry Minimum needed for bacteria to grow Potentially Hazardous Foods Distilled Water 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0. 5 0.6 0. 67 0. 7 0.75 0.8 0.85 0.9 0.92 0.95 0.98 1.0

21. To Grow, Bacteria Need: The right Temperature “Danger Zone” 140 º F 40 ºF

22. The effects of time and temperature on bacterial growth: Number of Salmonella per gram 95ºF 50ºF 44ºF 42ºF

23. The effects of temperature on bacterial growth

24. Not All Bacteria Created Equal  Different temperature  Different pH  Different water controls  Different survival conditions  Different adaptations  Different growth on different commodities  Different…….

25. Survival of Bacteria  Impacted by temperature, pH, sunlight exposure, source of contamination, other microflora and organism of interest E.coli, Salmonella spp., Listera, Shigella  Studies show different survivals of pathogens depending on commodity, surface soil or water, and viability/survival vs. growth E. coli Salmonella spp.

26. Some survival values reported:  Water – 15-30 days, 109 days; May be greater in ground water since cooler, protected form sun, less biological activity  Soil – 20 and 161-231 days  Crops – 7-15 days, 30 days, 49 days, 63-231 days, 3-5 months, 84-203 days depending on crop, contamination route etc. Cote,C and Quessy, S. 2005. J. Fd. Sci. 68(5):900-905) Steele,M and Odumer,J. 2004. J. Fd. Protection. 67(12):2839-2849. Kilonzo-Nthenge,A, Chen,F-C, and Godwin,S.L. 2006. J. Fd. Protection. 69(2):330-334. Islan,M, Morgan,J., Doyle,M.P., Phatak,S.C., Millner,P. and Jiang,X. 2004. Foodborne Illness and Disease. 1(1):27-35 Scott, L., McGee, P., Sheridan, B., Earley, B. and Leonard, N. 2006. J. Fd. Protection 69(1):6-11. Brandl, M.T. 2006. Annu. Rev. Phytopanthol. 44:367-392. Aruscavage, D., Lee, K., Miller, S., LeJeune, J.T. 2006. J. Fd. Sci. 71(8):R89-R99. Listeria monocytogenes.

27.  Studies have shown S. enterica and E.coli at planting time can persist for prolonged time – including until harvest.  Interactions of enteric pathogens with plant microflora – may enhance growth or survival.  Certain plant disease, such as soft rot, has been shown to have higher incidences of pathogens. Not all plant disease equal.  Damage – attachment greater then intact fruit or vegetables. Very complicated !!!

28. Persistance of E.Coli 0157:H7 Product Survival on productSurvival in soil * Parsley177 days 217 days Carrots175 days 196 days Onions 84 days 168 days Lettuce 77 days 154 days * 10 7 and 10 5 cells added to compost and water, respectively Islam, M, MP Doyle, S.C. Phatack, P. Millner, X.Jiang. 2004. Journal of Food Protection. 67(7):1365-1370 Doyle, M. 2007. E. coli 0157:H7 and Fresh Porduce. Presented 2007 NEFDOA conference. Warwick RI.

29. New Research  Prolonged survival of Campylobacter species in bovine manure compost reached or exceeded 55 o C detected after ~10 months in compost Inglis, et al. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 2010 76(4);1110-1119 - canada

30. Key Food Safety Principles  Practice Good Personal Hygiene  Control Time and Temperature  Prevent Cross-Contamination

31. Food Safety for the Producer: Good Agricultural Practices Water and Water Quality Manure and Biosolids Management Worker Health and Hygiene Sanitation in field, packing area and PYO operations Facilities Temperature Control Traceback

32. Food Safety Partnership  New England Cooperative Extension Food Safety Specialists From: University of Connecticut University of Maine University of Massachusetts University of New Hampshire University of Rhode Island University of Vermont  Other Representatives: State Agriculture Divisions/Departments USDA Agencies (Farm Service Agency, ASCS, NRCS) Farm Bureau Growers Associations Cooperative Extension Agricultural Specialists/Agents