FDA touts new fresh-cut guidelines
FDA touts new fresh-cut guidelines
WASHINGTON -- Federal food-safety officials publicized the release of the final guidelines for handling of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables on the same day U.S. Food & Drug Administration officials testified before Congress on produce safety.
FDA Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach said that Americans should be eating fresh-cut produce as part of a healthy diet, but these products are one area where foodborne illnesses occur.
"Offering clearer guidance to industry should aid in the reduction of health hazards that may be introduced or increased during the fresh-cut produce production process," he said.
In a press conference call with reporters, FDA officials stressed that fresh-cut produce is being implicated "more and more" in outbreaks, but that this could be due to an increase in consumption.
The new guidelines, which apply to domestic and foreign fresh-cut produce processors, suggest that companies consider programs such as the HACCP system to prevent foodborne hazards. The produce industry said that most of the changes it recommended from the 2006 draft document were adopted in the final guide.
Specifically, the guidelines urge companies to adhere to a series of recommendations in the categories of personnel health and hygiene standards, training, building and equipment safety, sanitation operations and fresh-cut packaging, storage, and transportation. Companies also should follow new federal recommendations on recordkeeping and on traceback and recall programs, according to the guidelines.
"We wholly support robust food safety programs and encourage our members -- who represent every link in the supply chain -- to constantly evaluate their food-safety programs," said Produce Marketing Association President Bryan Silbermann.
At a congressional hearing the first week of March in Wisconsin, United Fresh Produce Association President Tom Stenzel thanked FDA for moving quickly to release the new guidelines for the fresh-cut processing industry.
"We support specific, enforceable standards for fresh-cut, ready-to-eat produce and have encouraged FDA to take the important step of completing its draft Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards of Fresh-cut Fruits & Vegetables," Mr. Stenzel said.
When asked why the guidelines were not mandatory, Nega Beru of FDA's Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition told reporters that FDA could issue guidelines in "short order" and that mandatory regulations "have not been ruled out."
Dr. Beru said that the effect of federal guidelines should not be discounted, as outbreaks declined sharply after FDA issued sprout-handling guidelines in 1999.
But United Fresh's David Gombas said that processing plants already adhere to mandatory Good Manufacturing Practices, and most companies are already following food-safety programs that mirror the ones in the new guidelines.
"Honestly, it won't change much -- not for folks performing at the level they should be," he said. It is a good checklist for companies and will have the benefit of providing incentives for companies that need more resources for quality control, he added.
FDA Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach said that Americans should be eating fresh-cut produce as part of a healthy diet, but these products are one area where foodborne illnesses occur.
"Offering clearer guidance to industry should aid in the reduction of health hazards that may be introduced or increased during the fresh-cut produce production process," he said.
In a press conference call with reporters, FDA officials stressed that fresh-cut produce is being implicated "more and more" in outbreaks, but that this could be due to an increase in consumption.
The new guidelines, which apply to domestic and foreign fresh-cut produce processors, suggest that companies consider programs such as the HACCP system to prevent foodborne hazards. The produce industry said that most of the changes it recommended from the 2006 draft document were adopted in the final guide.
Specifically, the guidelines urge companies to adhere to a series of recommendations in the categories of personnel health and hygiene standards, training, building and equipment safety, sanitation operations and fresh-cut packaging, storage, and transportation. Companies also should follow new federal recommendations on recordkeeping and on traceback and recall programs, according to the guidelines.
"We wholly support robust food safety programs and encourage our members -- who represent every link in the supply chain -- to constantly evaluate their food-safety programs," said Produce Marketing Association President Bryan Silbermann.
At a congressional hearing the first week of March in Wisconsin, United Fresh Produce Association President Tom Stenzel thanked FDA for moving quickly to release the new guidelines for the fresh-cut processing industry.
"We support specific, enforceable standards for fresh-cut, ready-to-eat produce and have encouraged FDA to take the important step of completing its draft Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards of Fresh-cut Fruits & Vegetables," Mr. Stenzel said.
When asked why the guidelines were not mandatory, Nega Beru of FDA's Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition told reporters that FDA could issue guidelines in "short order" and that mandatory regulations "have not been ruled out."
Dr. Beru said that the effect of federal guidelines should not be discounted, as outbreaks declined sharply after FDA issued sprout-handling guidelines in 1999.
But United Fresh's David Gombas said that processing plants already adhere to mandatory Good Manufacturing Practices, and most companies are already following food-safety programs that mirror the ones in the new guidelines.
"Honestly, it won't change much -- not for folks performing at the level they should be," he said. It is a good checklist for companies and will have the benefit of providing incentives for companies that need more resources for quality control, he added.
