Approaches for Safety Assessment of Minimally Processed Fruits and Vegetables

Abstract ..................................................................................................................671 41.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................671 41.2 Good Management Practices .......................................................................672 41.3 HACCP.........................................................................................................674 41.4 Risk Assessment (RA) .................................................................................680 41.5 Hazard Identification....................................................................................684 41.6 Predictive Microbiology...............................................................................688 41.7 Conclusions ..................................................................................................690 References..............................................................................................................690

Fruit and vegetables, and minimally processed fruits and vegetables (MPFV), cannot be excluded from the application of any of the modern tools for ensuring safety of foods. Approaches to safety assessment of produce and MPFV, either from the industry side or from the regulatory perspective, are being revised. An attempt to place in a coordinated frame GMP, HACCP, risk assessment, and predictive microbiology for this type of products is made herein.