Southern Region Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training: Using Pre- and Post-Training Knowledge Assessments to Understand Training Effectiveness.

The Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) grower training was introduced in 2016 as the standardized curriculum to meet the training requirements of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act's (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule (PSR). The PSR states that at least one supervisor or responsible party from each farm must have successfully completed this food safety training or one equivalent to the standardized curriculum, as recognized by the FDA. This study evaluated the effectiveness of PSA trainings conducted between 2017 and 2019 in the Southern United States by the Southern Regional Center for Food Safety Training, Outreach, and Technical Assistance by analyzing pre- and posttest assessments.

Modeling the formulation pH of elderberry syrup with multiple weak acids.

The objective of this work was to develop methods to assess the influence of the ingredients of an acidified elderberry syrup on product pH. A measure of total ingredient buffering (tBeta) was defined as the area under the buffer capacity curve of a food mixture or ingredient for pH 2-12. Citric acid (1% w/v), elderberry juice (75% v/v), and malic acid (0.

Microbial Load of Fresh Produce and Paired Equipment Surfaces in Packing Facilities Near the U.S. and Mexico Border.

Several produce-associated outbreaks have been linked to the packing facility. Equipment surfaces may be an important source of contamination. The goal was to assess whether the microbial load of packing facility surfaces is associated with the microbial load of produce.

Associations between weather and microbial load on fresh produce prior to harvest.

Contaminated produce causes approximately 1 million cases of foodborne illness and 1 billion dollars in damages to the U.S. economy annually.

Microbial concentrations on fresh produce are affected by postharvest processing, importation, and season.

In the United States, the proportion of foodborne illness outbreaks associated with consumption of contaminated domestic and imported fresh fruits and vegetables (produce) has increased over the past several decades. To address this public health concern, the goal of this work was to identify and quantify factors associated with microbial contamination of produce in pre- and postharvest phases of the farm-to-fork continuum. From 2000 to 2003, we collected 923 samples of 14 types of produce (grown in the southern United States or in the northern border states of Mexico) from 15 farms and eight packing sheds located in the southern United States.

Design and synthesis of boronic-acid-labeled thymidine triphosphate for incorporation into DNA.

The boronic acid moiety is a versatile functional group useful in carbohydrate recognition, glycoprotein pull-down, inhibition of hydrolytic enzymes and boron neutron capture therapy. The incorporation of the boronic-acid group into DNA could lead to molecules of various biological functions. We have successfully synthesized a boronic acid-labeled thymidine triphosphate (B-TTP) linked through a 14-atom tether and effectively incorporated it into DNA by enzymatic polymerization.

A field study of the microbiological quality of fresh produce of domestic and Mexican origin.

Produce is responsible for an increasingly larger proportion of foodborne disease outbreaks. In particular, the globalization of the food supply may introduce new food safety risks and allow widespread distribution of contaminated food, particularly produce. The objectives of this study were to: (i) compare the overall quality of domestic and Mexican produce throughout the packing process; (ii) examine changes in microbiological quality of both domestic and Mexican produce at each stage of production and processing; and (iii) evaluate the prevalence of select pathogens on fresh produce, including leafy green, herbs, melons, and vegetables.

A simple method for the direct detection of Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7 from raw alfalfa sprouts and spent irrigation water using PCR.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recognizes that raw seed sprouts are an important cause of foodborne disease and is now recommending that either spent irrigation water or final product be screened for Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7 as a means of assuring the safety of product intended for consumption.

A field study of the microbiological quality of fresh produce.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that foodborne disease outbreaks associated with fruits and vegetables increased during the past decade. This study was conducted to characterize the routes of microbial contamination in produce and to identify areas of potential contamination from production through postharvest handling. We report here the levels of bacterial indicator organisms and the prevalence of selected pathogens in produce samples collected from the southern United States.

Antimicrobial resistance of Enterococcus species isolated from produce.

The purpose of this study was to characterize the antibiotic resistance profiles of Enterococcus species isolated from fresh produce harvested in the southwestern United States. Among the 185 Enterococcus isolates obtained, 97 (52%) were Enterococcus faecium, 38 (21%) were Enterococcus faecalis, and 50 (27%) were other Enterococcus species. Of human clinical importance, E.