Leafy Greens

  • Cottage food discussion in Wyoming includes leafy greens; AFDO guidance document available

    Posted: May 25th, 2012 - 4:39pm by Ben Chapman

    Author: 
    Ben Chapman

    Folks who want to make food in their home or garage and sell it are part of a growing business segment. By many accounts, the cottage food industry is growing in North America. The county extension agents I support are fielding an increased number of questions of how to break into the food industry in the past year. The situation in other states is apparently similar.

    Twenty U.S. states allow certain foods to be processed in the home and sold for consumption – but it’s a patchwork of regulatory approaches. In some states, the entire process is deregulated for certain exempt products. These products usually are limited to direct-selling (at a farmers’ market or roadside stand) of baked goods, jams and jellies.

    Last year Colorado jumped into cottage food rules including a requirement for small business folks to take a mandatory food handling course for foods deemed to be low risk (jellies, breads, etc).

    In 2010 Michigan also adopted a new law allowing for home-based food production. In the absence of inspection, the law requires each item to have a label saying it was produced in an uninspected home kitchen, listing the food's ingredients and any known allergens, and includes the producer's name and address.

    The cottage foods discussion has also popped up in Wyoming with a turn towards leafy greens and cut fruit processing, similar to discussions in North Carolina in April 2012.

    From the Star-Tribune:

    “People in Wyoming are concerned with food safety,” state Rep. Sue Wallis, R-Recluse said. “Many want to buy locally.”The problem is, according to Wyoming Department of Agriculture spokesman Derek Grant, unregulated processing of locally produced products, such as chopped lettuce or cantaloupe, increases the chances of contamination.One proposed rule allows farmers to sell leafy greens at a farmers market, for example, as long as they are not in a bag. If the greens are cut and placed in a bag, they are considered cut leafy greens and producers must meet sanitation requirements and obtain a license to sell them.Wallis said farmers in Jackson Hole have been selling bagged greens to local restaurants at the restaurants’ request.If the rule change is adopted, farmers will have to invest in a certified kitchen, with equipment to meet department requirements for cleaning the greens.

    While it might not be a current followed regulation, it's best practice to manage cut leafy greens (things like shredded lettuce, etc) like a high risk food, processed in a clean environment, and the end product kept at refrigeration temperatures. Following over 20 multi-state outbreaks between 1998 and 2008, 'cut leafy greens' was added to the definition of potentially hazardous food requiring time-temperature control for safety (TCS) in the U.S. FDA Model Food code.

    Storage and transport time and temperature are contributing factors for pathogen growth in cut leafy greens; water and nutrient availability, along with a suitable pH create an environment to support the growth of lots of foodborne bacteria. This is similar for other cut/minimally processed fruits and vegetables like melons, tomatoes and sprouts.

    In response to cottage food excitement, our friends at the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) have released a guidance document  (unfortunately it's not free) defining the types of foods that should fall under cottage food exemptions, and those, like cut fruits and vegetables, which should require some sort of commercial facility.

    The scope of these guidelines is comparable to those accepted practices currently recognized in several states and represents a consensus opinion of AFDO members. AFDO believes that adopting and implementing these guidelines, where there is little or no oversight of such activities, can eliminate a void in the national goal of a seamless food safety and security system

    The guidance document can be found at http://www.afdo.org/publications.

    Having a mandatory food handler course for exempt processors, like Colorado does, based on the AFDO guidance document, might help avoid the sometimes tragic outbreaks.

     

    Your rating: None (1 vote)
    Bookmark and Share
    Food Safety Culture  |  0 Comments
    cottage foods, leafy greens
  • No need to rewash pre-washed leafy greens; Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics misses the evidence-based message again

    Posted: May 22nd, 2012 - 4:38pm by Ben Chapman

    Author: 
    Ben Chapman

    My friends at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics are at it again. Last week they recycled a press release on the dangers of reusable bags that was full of holes, This week Sarah Kriegar of The Academy decided to remind folks that washing pre-washed leafy greens is a good idea.

    “Fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy eating plan, and should fill half of your plate, but just like any food product, extra precautions should be taken to reduce the risk of food poisoning,” said Sarah Krieger, a registered dietitian and academy spokeswoman, in a statement.
    She said (    among other things -ben):

    - Buy loose produce rather than pre-packaged, but if you do buy packaged lettuce or carrots or other items, wash them even if they say “ready to eat.”

    I'd like to see what data The Academy has that shows this recommendation would result in risk-reduction.

    Washing pre-washed leafy greens in the home isn't going to accomplish further risk-reduction than what was applied at processing; tight attachment or internalization of the target pathogens are likely for whatever is left when it gets to someones kitchen.

    A review paper published in Food Protection Trends in 2007 contained guidelines developed by a national panel of food safety folks and concluded:

    "… leafy green salad in sealed bags labeled ‘washed’ or ‘ready-to-eat’ that are produced in a facility inspected by a regulatory authority and operated under cGMPs, does not need additional washing at the time of use unless specifically directed on the label.”
    The panel also advised that additional washing of ready-to-eat green salads is not likely to enhance safety.

    “The risk of cross contamination from food handlers and food contact surfaces used during washing may outweigh any safety benefit that further washing may confer."

    A table of leafy green-related outbreak is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/leafy-greens-related-outbreaks. I'm not sure there's any data out there that shows washing would have been a protective step for any of the outbreaks.

    The merits of washing produce at home are debatable - many papers show somewhere around a 1-log reduction of pathogens from washing produce with no difference whether the fruit or vegetable was washed with water or some sort of sanitizer. A ten-fold reduction is okay if there isn’t much pre-home contamination, but washing as a kill step sucks and is really more about increasing quality(removing grit). Effective risk reduction actions for fresh produce are more likely found in production, processing and food service preparation (where contamination often occurs) – not in home kitchens.
     

    Your rating: None (2 votes)
    Bookmark and Share
    Food Safety Culture  |  0 Comments
    leafy greens, Produce, washing
  • Should pre-washed, bagged leafy greens be washed again at home? NPR says yes, many food safety types say no

    Posted: April 19th, 2012 - 10:09pm by Doug Powell

    Should bagged, pre-washed salad greens be washed again in the home kitchen?

    Many food safety types say no.

    During the idle but oh-so-smoothing brand of chat-chit practiced by National Public Radio that preceded a story about E. coli and Salmonella in leafy greens from Salinas, Calif., one reporter said, “I wash it every time but I don’t know if it actually helps.”

    Reporter Dan Charles responded, “It says prewashed but washing might help.”

    So might a lot of others things not fit for this family publication.

    A review paper published in Food Protection Trends in 2007 contained guidelines developed by a panel of food safety types and concluded:

    "… leafy green salad in sealed bags labeled ‘washed’ or ‘ready-to-eat’ that are produced in a facility inspected by a regulatory authority and operated under cGMPs, does not need additional washing at the time of use unless specifically directed on the label.”

    The panel also advised that additional washing of ready-to-eat green salads is not likely to enhance safety.

    “The risk of cross contamination from food handlers and food contact surfaces used during washing may outweigh any safety benefit that further washing may confer."

    When washing at home, "there's a risk that is the sink where you just washed your chicken," said Donald Schaffner, Rutgers University professor of food science, in a 2011 interview.

    Today’s NPR soothfest revisited what growers in California are doing to enhanced food safety and the 2006 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in spinach that killed 3 and sickened at least 200.

    Will Daniels, senior vice president for operations and organic integrity at Earthbound Farm, based in San Juan Bautista, told NPR, "I was at the center of the investigation and really took it very hard. It was just a real tough time to go through, and something that I don't ever want to go through again."

    Investigators found E. coli bacteria that matched the microbes that were making people sick on a ranch that was one of Earthbound's suppliers. But those bacteria were in animal feces a mile from the spinach field, Daniels says, "with no clear indication of what caused the contamination from a mile away to get into the spinach field itself."

    "Unfortunately, it looks like every animal is suspect," says Bob Martin, general manager of Rio Farms, in King City, Calif.

    Even birds. "Birds are a big issue! They carry human pathogens, and we can't put diapers on them. We can't dome our fields; there's nothing we can do, short of trying to scare them away.”

    Lettuce fields now have to be separated from cattle pastures, and throughout the valley, next to lettuce fields, you see white plastic pipes. Inside those pipes are mouse traps.

    And the birds? Vegetable buyers won't take anything from the area directly under power lines.

    "When it comes to food safety, if it's grown outdoors, forget it, there's no such thing as zero tolerance," says Bob Martin. "And everybody knows that, except for some food safety personnel of the big food buyers."

    Daniels of Earthbound Farms was further quoted as saying, "It is a true test-and-hold program, so we have to wait to get the negative results before we put it on a truck. Any positives go to the landfill.”

    There still are positives. Not very often, but every five weeks or so, one of these tests catches a sample that's contaminated with disease-causing E. coli or Salmonella.

    A table of leafy green related outbreak is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/leafy-greens-related-outbreaks.

    Your rating: None (2 votes)
    Bookmark and Share
    E. coli  |  0 Comments
    e. coli O157, food safety, leafy greens, Lettuce, Produce, Spinach, wash
  • Leafy greens cone of silence; some hometowners don’t believe it; need to provide stool sample to health unit

    Posted: August 3rd, 2010 - 8:40pm by Doug Powell

    The Sacramento Bee in California reports that the latest E. coli O157:H7 in lettuce recall prompted Bee readers to express disbelief that state public health officials had not received any reports that anyone had gotten sick from potentially tainted bags of pre-packaged salad mix.

    One Sacramento woman said she and her son were hospitalized after eating the salad, which was the subject of a recall. Several other callers also said that, without a doubt, they had eaten from a bag of bad product.

    But none of those who contacted The Bee said they had taken the time to call local health officials (those are the tools, right and left, to provide a stool sample; thanks, Ben).

    If consumers suspect that tainted food has made them ill, they should contact their doctor, said state Public Health Department spokesman Ralph Montaño. A doctor can help determine whether tainted food was potentially the cause and if necessary contact the county public health department.

    Your rating: None (2 votes)
    Bookmark and Share
    E. coli  |  0 Comments
    californnia, e. coli O157, Illness, leafy greens, Lettuce, stool sample
  • Shurley some mistake: should packaged salads be washed again or not? (Not)

    Posted: February 16th, 2010 - 12:23pm by Doug Powell

    There’s some merit in ignoring garbage food safety news stories so they don’t take on too much credibility.

    But then, garbage should also be crushed, quickly, factually, and mercilessly, so it doesn’t get repeated forever.

    The Consumers Union theatrics about bacteria found in bagged leafy greens has found new legs in Canada – always a week behind -- in stories with quotes like, “If you buy ready-made salad greens, wash them before eating.”

    This is bull poop.

    The March issue of Consumer Reports says that tests on 208 samples of salads sold in bags or plastic containers, conducted by Consumers Union revealed that 39 per cent of the salads analyzed revealed the presence of several types of bacteria, including total coliforms and Enterococcus, both found “in the human digestive tract.”

    The Canadian wire story says: “Translation: poop.”

    Not quite.

    Trevor Suslow of UC Davis told the Perishable Pundit that “a normal head of lettuce is colonized, not contaminated with, a diversity of microbiota, including diverse types of bacteria. Only a small fraction of the total normal bacteria on lettuce can be grown or cultured in the lab. The total numbers of bacteria on a leaf far exceed the number of a single group like the Total Coliforms that were a prime target in the survey. A smaller subset of Total Coliform bacteria are the fecal coliforms. We eat lots and lots of microbes all the time. …

    “I am certainly not a medical or public health expert and I am simplifying this quite a bit just to ensure that you are aware that a total coliform or fecal coliform doesn’t necessarily indicate fecal contamination in the plant world. Their numbers on a leaf or fruit do not relate well to risk of illness or true and serious pathogens being present. When one follows standard protocols, developed for dairy, meat, drinking water, and wastewater reclamation, for example, for enumerating total coliform populations from plants, one often gets high numbers of these plant colonizers. They are very tough to wash off…”

    “Purchasing packaged salads or whole heads is a matter of personal choice. We do both in my family. I always wash loose leaf lettuces to remove any adhering soil. I never wash packaged salads. I do not support or believe that re-washing packaged salads should be a recommendation for the home consumer. A large and diverse panel of experts published a comprehensive article in 2007 detailing the scientific evidence for the lack of benefit and the greater risk of cross-contamination in the home.”

    That report is available here. The conclusion is there is a greater chance of cross-contamination during the rewash of packaged greens. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also states, “… there is no need to wash fresh-cut leafy greens again if they are labeled as "washed," "triple washed," or "ready-to-eat" on the package. Although not recommended, if end users do re-wash RTE fresh-cut leafy greens, having appropriate sanitary washing and drying conditions in the foodservice, retail or in-home food preparation environment to reduce the potential for cross contamination of fresh-cut RTE produce with human pathogens. “

    The U.K. Food Standards Authority made a similar statement about no need for rewashing after the Brits had a row about the issue documented in Salad Smackdown ’08.

    The issue is complicated, but for Consumers Union to come out with a soundbite about washing greens is great PR and lousy public policy. For journalists not to check is becoming standard for an industry in decline. For the producers of bagged leafy greens, this is an opportunity to tout your food safety efforts and market them at retail so consumers can choose.

     

    Your rating: None
    Bookmark and Share
    Food Safety Policy  |  0 Comments
    bagged salad, consumers union, Cross Contamination, leafy greens, Rinse, Salad, wash