Produce food safety and interventions to reduce risk

The consumption of fresh and lightly processed produce has increased throughout the world due to changes in dietary patterns and the year-round availability of food via global food supply chains. These changes have been accompanied by a significant increase in cases of produce-borne disease caused by Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli O157:H7, other bacteria, protozoa and virus. The magnitude of the problem is likely many times higher due to under-reporting. Solutions are hampered by the fresh nature of the product, market trends towards minimally-processed food and limited availability of suitable processing interventions. To address this challenge, effective Good Agricultural Practices and novel intervention strategies are needed.