18 - Consumer risk in storage and shipping of raw fruit and Vegetables

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of consumer risk in storage and shipping of raw fruit and vegetables. Among the huge number of food items marketed, whole fresh fruits and vegetables are considered less risky from the viewpoint of microbiological disease but they are still risky from the point of view of pesticide residues. The contamination of fruits and vegetables can be due to different pathogens, including bacteria. The problem of contamination is more important in developing countries where contaminated water may be used for irrigation or manure used as fertilizer. However industrialized countries have experienced an increase in the number of produce-associated foodborne illnesses. The chapter presents a classification of fruits and vegetables based on identified risks. Today, attention to food safety is much greater than in the past and even for fresh fruits and vegetables, which are stored and shipped all over the world, precautions must be taken and, borrowing the terms and codes of the Quality Certification ISO 9000-2000, “preventive action (3.6.4), corrective action (3.6.5) and correction (3.6.6) must be taken into account”. In April 2004, the European Union adopted the “hygiene package” composed of five legislative texts. EC Regulation N. 825/2004, referred to as “hygiene”, is one of the texts of this package, focusing mainly on the responsibility of the operator for food safety, on maintaining the cold chain and on improving the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and the good practice guide. The chapter discusses the main storage and shipping technologies, taking into account the safety aspects of the product for the consumer.