Fruit and Vegetable Washing in Food Retail Environments

Anna Starobin, Sally Foong-Cunningham Biblographic citation: Food Protection Trends, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 70-73, Jan 2017 Volume 37, Issue 1: Pages 70–73

Consumption of fruits and vegetables is encouraged as part of a healthy diet by The Dietary Guidelines for Americans for 2010. If the benefits of fruits and vegetables are to be enjoyed, they need to be handled properly at all steps along the supply chain, from farm to fork. Approximately 131 produce-related outbreaks occurred between 1996 and 2010. These outbreaks resulted in 14,132 illnesses, 1,360 hospitalizations and 27 deaths, and were associated with approximately 20 fresh produce commodities. Food retail plays a big role in providing safe produce to consumers. This paper gives an overview of the procedures used by retail establishments and explains the reasons for some of the practices recommended in industry guidelines.

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