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Case Studies and Outbreaks: Fresh Produce

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Viruses in Foods

Part of the book series: Food Microbiology and Food Safety ((RESDEV))

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Abstract

The number of foodborne outbreaks linked to the consumption of fresh produce has been on the rise (Gould et al. 2013). Over 45 % of outbreaks of known etiology reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) between 1998 and 2008 were caused by foodborne viruses, especially human norovirus (HuNoV) and to a lesser extent hepatitis A virus (HAV) (Gould et al. 2013). In one recent study, a majority of viral outbreaks were attributed to the consumption of leafy vegetables (35 %) or fruits and nuts (15 %) (Painter et al. 2013). Contamination of fresh produce may occur prior to distribution in the wholesale or retail market through contaminated irrigation water, poor hygiene of harvesters, and/or during the processing and packaging steps due to improperly sanitized equipment or wash water. Contamination during production and processing has recently led to large scale outbreaks of HuNoV associated with strawberries in 2012 (Bernard et al. 2014; Made et al. 2013) and of HAV in green onions in 2003 (Wheeler et al. 2005).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Molecular Virology and Biology Team, Office of Applied Research and Safety Assesement, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, 8301 Muirkirk Road, Laurel, MD, 20708, USA

    Efstathia Papafragkou & Kaoru Hida

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  1. Efstathia Papafragkou
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  2. Kaoru Hida
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

    Sagar M. Goyal

  2. University of Georgia, Griffin, Georgia, USA

    Jennifer L. Cannon

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Papafragkou, E., Hida, K. (2016). Case Studies and Outbreaks: Fresh Produce. In: Goyal, S., Cannon, J. (eds) Viruses in Foods. Food Microbiology and Food Safety(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30723-7_6

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