A hazard analysis critical control point plan applied to the Lada vegetable production units (VPU) to ensure the safety of space grown vegetables

Abstract

The Lada Vegetable Production Unit (VPU), flight hardware currently deployed on the Russian module of the International Space Station (ISS), is being used to validate the food safety of fresh “space-grown” crops. The final objective of this project is the development of a hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) plan for Lada grown crops to minimize potential microbial risks to the astronauts. Following FDA guidelines for the development of a HACCP plan, the identification of hazards and critical control points associated with the production of consumable crops grown in the Lada VPU and the establishment of preventative procedures to minimize risk were performed through the collection of baseline microbiological data and testing of pre and post harvest sanitization protocols. Microbiological data collected from both plant tissue and hardware (e.g., root modules) returned from a variety of crops grown on ISS and ground based experiments have been done to define normal microbial loads and understand the fate and survival of human associated pathogens in the Lada VPU. Protocols have been tested to determine the effectiveness of a sanitizer approved by the FDA and USDA (Pro-San) to achieve acceptable levels of microbes on VPU surfaces and vegetables. These data have been used to develop the HACCP plan outlined here for crops grown in a VPU designed for a space environment.