After Cantaloupe Listeria Outbreak, California Growers Seek Food Safety Research Funds
The California cantaloupe industry wants growers and handlers around to contribute money for research that will improve food safety and restore consumer confidence after the deadly multistate cantaloupe listeria outbreak, according to a story in The Packer.
The California Cantaloupe Advisory Board (CCAB) and California Melon Research Board (CMRB) have each pledged $100,000 toward the research.The goal is to raise $1 million to fund a research project at the Center for Produce Safety at the University of California, Davis, CCAB chairman Steve Patricio said. A meeting for industry stakeholders is scheduled are scheduled for January 11, 2012.
California cantaloupe growers, who pride themselves on their zero-outbreak track record, have been industry leaders in establishing best practice guidelines for growing. One key element shown by California research is that the growing conditions in dry regions make it a good practice to field pack cantaloupe, rather than sending it to packing sheds for water washes.
About 90 percent of California cantaloupe is field-packed and sent immediately to coolers, Steve Smith, co-owner of Trulock Fruit Co. Inc. and CMRB president estimates in the story.“Research has shown that in our growing conditions there are very few, if any, pathogens present,” Smith said. “When you introduce water to the packing process you introduce a growth medium. There is also a much greater chance for cross-contamination.”
The packing shed was a contamination point at Jensen Farms in Holly, Colo, the origin of the Listeria outbreak that sickened 139 people in 28 states, killing 29 and causing one miscarriage.
“In terms of the recent [Listeria] outbreak, we really needed to know what the FDA found when they inspected the Colorado facility,” said Bonnie Fernandez-Fenaroli, executive director for the Center for Produce Safety, in the story. “The report they published on the conditions there is crucial to examining the overall situation.”
Contact the foodborne illness experts at the law firm of PritzkerOlsen P.A. for a free consultation if you have legal questions about an illness or hospitalization associated with this outbreak.
