California Cantaloupe Advisory Board releases new GAPs
California Cantaloupe Advisory Board releases new GAPs
The California cantaloupe industry has developed a new quality-assurance program it hopes will further distance the state's melons from the food safety problems that have plagued Mexican melons in the past.
"The California cantaloupe industry was devastated by food-safety problems during the 1990s that had absolutely nothing to do with our region," said Stephen Patricio, chairman of the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board and president of Westside Produce Co. in San Jose, CA, which specializes in field packing, commercial cooling and shipping of California cantaloupes and honeydews.
In response to repeated outbreaks associated with Mexican cantaloupes, the industry began funding research in the mid-1990s to better understand how the edible portion of the commodity can become contaminated, how bacteria could be eliminated once inside the melon and what was the best approach to minimize the risks.
"We were displeased initially, he said, when the research results began coming in. Once contaminated, it is difficult to remove pathogens from produce. Research showed that a combination of heat, wind and drying is most likely to eliminate the risk of contamination unless the rind is breached.
People have become sick from eating melons, but the reality is that 90 percent of the problems were traced to hygiene problems, he said, adding that everyone always seems to point the finger at the grower.
The latest research conducted by Dr. Trevor Suslow, an extension research specialist for University of California at Davis, showed that California's dry, hot growing conditions are ideal because they allow the melons to be field packed and not expose them to additional microbes from centralized washing before shipping.
California's rain-free summers, combined with the grower's careful field preparation and irrigation practices, keep the cantaloupes dry to ensure that the melon rinds develop properly. When the melons are grown in wet conditions, "ground spots can form and give bacteria a chance to invade.
Harvesting in California means most cantaloupes are field packed. Once melons are picked, they are quickly cooled through forced-air cooling or a hydrocooling system to ensure a longer shelf life. Research is showing that the centralized washing step or hydrocooling may increase the risks of tainting cantaloupe. Minimizing exposure to water is critical to reducing the chance of contamination, according to the latest research.
For hundreds of years, melons were grown in mainly dry areas, but in recent years the growing region has expanded to include tropical climates such as Central America and Chile, where cantaloupes are grown in areas that receive much rain, said Mr. Patricio.
As part of the food-safety research project, UC-Davis tested more than 2,000 California melons from the field to the packing and cooling processes and found no Salmonella in the fruits. California cantaloupes have never been associated with a foodborne illness outbreak.
After six years of intensive research, the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board just rolled out its comprehensive Quality Assurance Program at the recent United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association convention. The program relies on technologies and best management practices, along with the latest research on the importance of proper temperature and handling to ensure safe melons.
These new, commodity-specific Good Agricultural Practices provide growers and shippers with standards for water quality, soil testing, adjacent land uses, hygienic practices for harvest, and routine cleansing of harvesting equipment and transport vehicles, among other steps. The board has been working with FDA to make sure that the agency is comfortable with the commodity-specific GAPs for California cantaloupes that have been developed as part of the new Quality Assurance Program.
Most of the information is not new to California producers, who have already been following similar safety guidelines, said Jerry Munson, spokesman for the board.
Dominique Hansen of the Alliance for Food & Farming praised the California cantaloupe industry for conducting its own research and responding with a new quality-assurance program.
In 2002, the Food & Drug Administration issued import alerts for Mexican cantaloupes after U.S. consumers endured four Salmonellosis outbreaks in three years. The import restriction remains in place for Mexican cantaloupe, and only a few shippers have qualified to import products.
The issue placed cantaloupes on FDA's watch list and prompted United and the Produce Marketing Association to begin developing commodity-specific guidelines for cantaloupe.
"We don't need more research, said Mr. Patricio. "Here's the protocol.
The California cantaloupe industry has bounced back from the Salmonella outbreaks, but there is still a perception that Salmonella and cantaloupe are synonymous, and that is a terrible thing, he said. While there may be no one-size-fits-all solution, the entire cantaloupe industry can use the California document and tailor it to regional production risks.
"The California cantaloupe industry was devastated by food-safety problems during the 1990s that had absolutely nothing to do with our region," said Stephen Patricio, chairman of the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board and president of Westside Produce Co. in San Jose, CA, which specializes in field packing, commercial cooling and shipping of California cantaloupes and honeydews.
In response to repeated outbreaks associated with Mexican cantaloupes, the industry began funding research in the mid-1990s to better understand how the edible portion of the commodity can become contaminated, how bacteria could be eliminated once inside the melon and what was the best approach to minimize the risks.
"We were displeased initially, he said, when the research results began coming in. Once contaminated, it is difficult to remove pathogens from produce. Research showed that a combination of heat, wind and drying is most likely to eliminate the risk of contamination unless the rind is breached.
People have become sick from eating melons, but the reality is that 90 percent of the problems were traced to hygiene problems, he said, adding that everyone always seems to point the finger at the grower.
The latest research conducted by Dr. Trevor Suslow, an extension research specialist for University of California at Davis, showed that California's dry, hot growing conditions are ideal because they allow the melons to be field packed and not expose them to additional microbes from centralized washing before shipping.
California's rain-free summers, combined with the grower's careful field preparation and irrigation practices, keep the cantaloupes dry to ensure that the melon rinds develop properly. When the melons are grown in wet conditions, "ground spots can form and give bacteria a chance to invade.
Harvesting in California means most cantaloupes are field packed. Once melons are picked, they are quickly cooled through forced-air cooling or a hydrocooling system to ensure a longer shelf life. Research is showing that the centralized washing step or hydrocooling may increase the risks of tainting cantaloupe. Minimizing exposure to water is critical to reducing the chance of contamination, according to the latest research.
For hundreds of years, melons were grown in mainly dry areas, but in recent years the growing region has expanded to include tropical climates such as Central America and Chile, where cantaloupes are grown in areas that receive much rain, said Mr. Patricio.
As part of the food-safety research project, UC-Davis tested more than 2,000 California melons from the field to the packing and cooling processes and found no Salmonella in the fruits. California cantaloupes have never been associated with a foodborne illness outbreak.
After six years of intensive research, the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board just rolled out its comprehensive Quality Assurance Program at the recent United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association convention. The program relies on technologies and best management practices, along with the latest research on the importance of proper temperature and handling to ensure safe melons.
These new, commodity-specific Good Agricultural Practices provide growers and shippers with standards for water quality, soil testing, adjacent land uses, hygienic practices for harvest, and routine cleansing of harvesting equipment and transport vehicles, among other steps. The board has been working with FDA to make sure that the agency is comfortable with the commodity-specific GAPs for California cantaloupes that have been developed as part of the new Quality Assurance Program.
Most of the information is not new to California producers, who have already been following similar safety guidelines, said Jerry Munson, spokesman for the board.
Dominique Hansen of the Alliance for Food & Farming praised the California cantaloupe industry for conducting its own research and responding with a new quality-assurance program.
In 2002, the Food & Drug Administration issued import alerts for Mexican cantaloupes after U.S. consumers endured four Salmonellosis outbreaks in three years. The import restriction remains in place for Mexican cantaloupe, and only a few shippers have qualified to import products.
The issue placed cantaloupes on FDA's watch list and prompted United and the Produce Marketing Association to begin developing commodity-specific guidelines for cantaloupe.
"We don't need more research, said Mr. Patricio. "Here's the protocol.
The California cantaloupe industry has bounced back from the Salmonella outbreaks, but there is still a perception that Salmonella and cantaloupe are synonymous, and that is a terrible thing, he said. While there may be no one-size-fits-all solution, the entire cantaloupe industry can use the California document and tailor it to regional production risks.
