FDA Finalizes Updated Food-Safety Guidance for Fresh-Cut Produce
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has finalized updated food-safety guidance for manufacturers and processors of fresh-cut produce, providing new recommendations aimed at reducing biological hazards in one of the produce industry’s fastest-growing but most food-safety-sensitive categories.
The guidance applies to ready-to-eat fresh fruits and vegetables that have been physically altered from their whole form through processes such as chopping, dicing, peeling, shredding or slicing. Products covered include chopped lettuce, sliced cantaloupe, diced onions, shredded carrots, coleslaw mixes and fruit salads.
FDA’s recommendations emphasize sanitation controls, supplier verification, refrigeration, safe processing water, employee training and facility design. The agency is also encouraging processors to determine whether pathogens including Salmonella, Cyclospora, E. coli and Listeria pose hazards that require additional preventive measures or supply-chain controls.
The guidance is not legally binding, but represents FDA’s current recommendations for companies seeking to minimize microbial food-safety risks associated with fresh-cut products.
Processing fruits and vegetables can create additional food-safety concerns because cutting or shredding breaks the natural exterior barrier of the product. Cellular fluids released during processing can provide nutrients that allow microorganisms already present on produce to survive or multiply. Fresh-cut products are also frequently ready to eat, meaning consumers may not cook them before consumption.
The announcement comes amid heightened industry and consumer attention to produce safety following major Cyclospora and Salmonella outbreaks this summer involving fresh produce.
Acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas sought to reassure consumers following the release of the guidance, saying Americans “should feel confident in eating fresh produce, including leafy greens at this point.”
FDA has said iceberg lettuce associated with the recent Cyclospora outbreak was effectively removed from the marketplace following a July recall, although the agency and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have continued investigating the outbreak.
Cyclospora presents a particular challenge for fresh-cut processors. FDA noted that antimicrobial treatments used in produce wash water may not adequately control the parasite, making preventive measures farther upstream in the supply chain especially important.
That places additional emphasis on supplier verification and understanding growing and harvesting practices before produce enters a processing facility.
The updated guidance also stresses temperature control. Because many fresh-cut fruits and vegetables contain high levels of moisture and nutrients, maintaining proper refrigeration throughout processing, storage, transportation and retail distribution can help prevent conditions that allow pathogens to grow.
FDA’s recommendations build upon draft guidance issued in 2018. While that version addressed a broader range of food-safety hazards and both ready-to-eat and non-ready-to-eat fresh-cut produce, the final guidance focuses on biological hazards associated with ready-to-eat fresh-cut products with high moisture content.
The guidance comes as convenience continues to drive growth throughout produce departments. Fresh-cut fruit, salad kits, prepared vegetables and other ready-to-use products give shoppers convenient ways to consume more produce, while also creating value-added opportunities for growers, processors and retailers.
But the category’s continued growth makes food-safety controls increasingly important.
For processors and their produce suppliers, FDA’s latest action reinforces the need to treat food safety as a supply-chain responsibility that begins well before fruits and vegetables reach the cutting and packaging line.
