Washing Practices on the Microflora on Georgia-Grown Cantaloupes

Akins, E. Deann; Harrison, Mark A.; Hurst, William C.

doi:10.4315/0362-028x-71.1.46

Cited by 22 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Akins et al (2008) reported that cantaloupe taken from the wash tank exhibited lower microbial counts than cantaloupe taken after conveyor belts in the packaging area of the processing plant. This suggested that the conveyor belts may have contributed to recontamination of the cantaloupe.…”

Section: Prevention Of Pathogen Recontamination and Growth By Packagingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salmonellosis Outbreaks in the United States Due to Fresh Produce: Sources and Potential Intervention Measures

Hanning

Nutt

Ricke

2009

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease

382

265

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Foodborne Salmonella spp. is a leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States each year. Traditionally, most cases of salmonellosis were thought to originate from meat and poultry products. However, an increasing number of salmonellosis outbreaks are occurring as a result of contaminated produce. Several produce items specifically have been identified in outbreaks, and the ability of Salmonella to attach or internalize into vegetables and fruits may be factors that make these produce items more likely to be sources of Salmonella. In addition, environmental factors including contaminated water sources used to irrigate and wash produce crops have been implicated in a large number of outbreaks. Salmonella is carried by both domesticated and wild animals and can contaminate freshwater by direct or indirect contact. In some cases, direct contact of produce or seeds with contaminated manure or animal wastes can lead to contaminated crops. This review examines outbreaks of Salmonella due to contaminated produce, the potential sources of Salmonella, and possible control measures to prevent contamination of produce.

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Section: Prevention Of Pathogen Recontamination and Growth By Packagingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salmonellosis Outbreaks in the United States Due to Fresh Produce: Sources and Potential Intervention Measures

Hanning

Nutt

Ricke

2009

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease

382

265

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“…; Ukuku and Fett ; Akins et al . ), but other research has reported some negative quality attributes of melons. Fan and group (2009) found fungal reductions after sanitizing melons with peroxyacetic acid at 80 ppm, but noted sensory reductions of aroma and appearance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

The Effects of Produce Washes on the Quality and Shelf Life of “Cantaloupe” (Cucumis Melo var. Cantalupensis) and “Watermelon” (Citrullus Lantus var. Lanatus)

Svoboda

Shaw

Wilson

et al. 2016

Journal of Food Quality

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Our research objective was to evaluate the ability of produce washes to maintain the texture and color quality attributes of watermelon and cantaloupe while reducing the levels of natural fungi population on the melon surface. Melons were submerged for 2 min into either water control or water containing quaternary ammonium chloride (300 ppm) or an 18% hydrogen peroxide and 12% peroxyacetic acid combination (100 ppm), or an acetic acid, peroxyacetic acid and hydrogen peroxide combination (0.78%). Microbial analysis and instrumental measurements were utilized to assess the melons on day 0, 7, 14 and 21 in three separate trials. The experimental results indicated no reduction of fungal contaminants and no changes in firmness or color of melons following the applied treatments over the time of the study (P > 0.05). Additionally, the results provided evidence of extension of shelf life due to application of the tested washing solutions onto the watermelons or cantaloupe. Practical Applications Concerns over microbial safety in the melon industry prompted the use of intervention treatments to reduce foodborne pathogens. New formulations of antimicrobial treatments have created a wide variety of washing treatments that the melons producers can utilize in their production system. Research has shown that many of these formulations have antimicrobial effects, but little data have shown whether quality affects will result. This fact has caused growers' to hesitate using such products. The results of this work indicate that the chosen produce sanitizers did not reduce the quality of whole melons following washing treatments. Information provided by this work will be utilized to communicate benefits of surface washing in the melon industry, and to promote sanitation and safe handling practices through extension education.

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“…In California melons are harvested and packed in the field, but in Georgia, the harvested melons are transported to a shed for washing and packing (Akins et al, 2008). In Mexico, cantaloupes are handled in a similar way as in Georgia, according to guidelines for the voluntary implementation of good agricultural practices and good management practices in the production and packing of fruits and vegetables for fresh consumption by humans, released by the Mexican Government (SENASICA, 2008) published after the MOU between the FDA and the Mexican government (Anon, 2005).…”

Section: Potential Sources and Mechanisms Of Contamination And Measurmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is believed that contamination of fresh-cut melon results from transfer of human pathogens on the surface to the interior flesh during cutting . As with lettuce and tomatoes, efforts to decontaminate whole cantaloupes by application of sanitizers have achieved limited success (Akins et al, 2008;Fan et al, 2009). Typically, 1-3-log reductions have been reported for cantaloupes inoculated with Salmonella spp.…”

Section: Cantaloupementioning

confidence: 99%

Salmonella and Tomatoes

Bartz¹,

Marvasi²,

Teplitski³

2014

The Produce Contamination Problem

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Academic Press is an imprint of ElsevierNo part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier's Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone (+44) (0) 1865 843830; fax (+44) (0) 1865 853333; email: permissions@elsevier.com. Alternatively you can submit your request online by visiting the Elsevier web site at http://elsevier.com/locate/permissions, and selecting Obtaining permission to use Elsevier material NoticeNo responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein. Because of rapid advances in the medical sciences, in particular, independent verification of diagnoses and drug dosages should be made British Library Cataloguing in Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataA catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress Printed and bound in the United States PART 3 CONTAMINATION AVOIDANCE PRE AND POSTHARVEST CHAPTER 15 Produce Contamination Issues in Mexico and CHAPTER 16 Regulatory Issues in Europe RegardingFresh PART 4 TECHNOLOGY FOR REDUCTION OF HUMAN PATHOGENS IN FRESH PRODUCE PrefaceThe premise of the book is that once human pathogen contamination of fresh produce occurs, it is extremely difficult to reduce pathogen levels sufficiently with currently available technologies based on washing with sanitizing agents to assure microbiological safety. Outbreaks since the first edition of this book was published have been attributed to consumption of fresh commodities including but not limited to cantaloupes, mangoes, tomatoes, seed sprouts, and salad greens. Globally extensive research, published in thousands of scientific papers and documents, has focused on the microbiological safety of fresh produce. Disinfection methods whether conventional or based on new innovative technology fail to reduce pathogen loads on produce to levels consistent with product safety.Produce decontamination methods are surprisingly similar in the level of reductions in pathogens they achieve. Methods that are effective, irradiation and high pressure, are either not accepted by a large segment of consumers or not practical for all types of fresh produce. The intrinsic interaction of microbes with plant tissues, internalization, biofilm formation, and association with inaccessible sites contributes to the insufficient reduction in microbial populations to assure product safety. The key to improving the microbial safety of fresh products is the development of wiser strategies to avoid human pathogen contamination of the products rather than focusing on disinfect...

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Washing Practices on the Microflora on Georgia-Grown Cantaloupes

Cited by 22 publications

References 22 publications

Salmonellosis Outbreaks in the United States Due to Fresh Produce: Sources and Potential Intervention Measures

Salmonellosis Outbreaks in the United States Due to Fresh Produce: Sources and Potential Intervention Measures

The Effects of Produce Washes on the Quality and Shelf Life of “Cantaloupe” (Cucumis Melo var. Cantalupensis) and “Watermelon” (Citrullus Lantus var. Lanatus)

Salmonella and Tomatoes

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