Ranking Food Safety Priorities of the Fresh Produce Industry in the United States

Bashiru C Bakin; Chloe J McGovern; Meredith Melendez; Christina Kessler; Faith Critzer; Channah M Rock; Robert L Buchanan; Donald W Schaffner; Michelle D Danyluk; Barbara B Kowalcyk; Kara M Morgan; Laura K Strawn; Alexis M Hamilton

doi:10.1016/j.jfp.2023.100167

Ranking Food Safety Priorities of the Fresh Produce Industry in the United States

J Food Prot. 2023 Dec;86(12):100167. doi: 10.1016/j.jfp.2023.100167. Epub 2023 Sep 27.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Food Science and Technology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
² Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ 08638, USA.
³ Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Citrus Research and Education Center, University of Florida IFAS, Lake Alfred, FL 33850, USA.
⁴ Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
⁵ Department of Environmental Science, University of Arizona Maricopa Agricultural Center, Maricopa, AZ 85138, USA.
⁶ Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
⁷ Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
⁸ Translational Data Analytics Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
⁹ Department of Food Science and Technology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Food Science and Technology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. Electronic address: ahamilton@vt.edu.

PMID: 37774839
DOI: 10.1016/j.jfp.2023.100167

Abstract

A broad understanding of community member food safety priorities in the fresh produce supply chain does not currently exist. This information is essential to improve food safety knowledge and practices effectively and efficiently throughout the fresh produce industry; therefore, the goal of this study was to identify and rank community produce safety priorities in the United States. Survey questions were designed and approved by food safety experts for participants to rank 24 fresh produce safety priorities. The anonymous survey was distributed online via Qualtrics™ to fresh produce community members from November 2020 to May 2021. A score was calculated for each priority by summing weighted ranking scores across responses. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to determine frequencies and distribution of response and identify factors (e.g., role in produce safety, size/location of organization/operation) that influenced rankings. A total of 281 respondents represented fourteen different roles in the fresh produce industry, with most identified as growers (39.5%). Produce operations were distributed across the U.S. and annual produce sales ranged from below $25,000 to over $5,000,000. Health and hygiene, training, postharvest sanitation, traceability, and harvest sanitation were ranked as the top five food safety priorities. These findings provide insight into community member priorities in fresh produce safety and can be used to inform intervention efforts, ranging from specialized training for produce growers and packers, industry-driven research projects, and gaps in risk communication strategies.

Keywords: Adjacent land; Agricultural water; Health and hygiene; Sanitation; Traceability.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Commerce
Food Safety*
Humans
Hygiene*
Sanitation
United States