Ready-to-eat vegetables: Current problems and potential solutions to reduce microbial risk in the production chain

- Fresh produce production and processing involves operations that can cause contamination.
- Prevention of foodborne contamination in fresh-cut processing starts in the field.
- Washing is a key intervention step in but also an important source of cross-contamination.
- Intervention strategies such as the use of wash water disinfectants are recommended.
- Quantitative Risk Analyses can be used to define risk management interventions.

The popularity of the consumption of fresh ready-to-eat (RTE) products has increased globally. Simultaneously, the number of outbreaks and cases of foodborne illness associated with the consumption of contaminated fresh produce continues to escalate. Thus, it becomes clear that fresh and fresh-cut vegetables are not processed in ways that effectively eliminate human pathogens. Processing of fresh vegetables involves the application of several unit operations that can provide opportunities for cross-contamination whereby a small proportion of contaminated product may cause the contamination of a large proportion of processed product. Some of these unit operations where contamination and cross-contamination may occur are selection, cleaning, washing, trimming, peeling, cutting and shredding, sanitizing and packing. It is recommended that processors ensure that their suppliers (growers, harvesters, packers and distributors) adopt the principles outlined in the Code of Hygienic Practice for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables. A variety of intervention methods may be used such as mild preservation and/or disinfection techniques to enhance safety of minimally processed produce. Traditional methods of reducing microbial populations on produce involve chemical and physical treatments.This review brings an overview of the main microbial risks faced by the producers and the available alternative strategies to reduce these risks. The information shown gives insights on microbial contamination throughout the processing operations involved in RTE vegetable production.