ABSTRACT
The global production of fruits and vegetables grew 94% from 1980 to 2004 with a yearly average of 4.5%. Only in the United States, consumption per capita of fresh fruits and vegetables increased approximately 19 and 57%, respectively, between 1976 and 2007. This consumption trend has been adopted worldwide, provoking a concurrent growth of this economic activity. For example, in Mexico, a major producer of fruits and vegetables, approximately 8.9 million of their 118 million inhabitants are involved in food production and about 80% of those employed in food production work in agriculture. Mexican Agrifood systems use 11% of the country’s surface to grow more than 500 vegetable species. Unfortunately, the high produce consumption has occurred concomitant with a rise in the number of produce-associated foodborne outbreaks worldwide. In the United States, between 1996 and 2010, approximately 23% of total foodborne illness outbreaks were produce-related. In Europe, 10% of the outbreaks, 35% of hospitalizations, and 46% of the deaths were linked to produce in the period 2007 to 2011, whereas in Australia, fresh produce was linked to 4% of foodborne disease outbreaks informed from 2001 to 2005. In this chapter, the most common food safety problems regarding produce production, the main pathogenic bacteria involved, and the most effective methods of pathogen detection and control will be discussed.
