AOAC submitted in January 2010 a proposal, "Standardization and Validation of Pathogen Testing Procedures for Fresh Produce," in response to the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI), Request for Applications. In collaboration with United Fresh Produce Association (UFPA), the University of California Davis (UCD), North Carolina State University (NCSU), and test kit companies, AOAC proposes to provide the fresh produce industry with standard, AOAC-validated methods and standard, validated field and postharvest sample collection procedures for the detection of Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, and non-O157:H7 enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) in leafy greens that provide a known level of confidence in the results of tests.

The lack of these has been identified by technical leaders of the fresh produce industry as "among the most important food safety issues facing the fresh produce industry today," said Krystyna McIver, senior director, stakeholder communications. “It’s a good time for AOAC to submit the proposal, the objectives of which are also in line with FDA’s food safety initiative.”

The proposal addresses SCRI legislatively mandated need for methods to “prevent, detect, monitor, control, and respond to potential food safety hazards in the production and processing of specialty crops, including fresh produce.”

AOAC proposes to gather stakeholders to come to agreement on the fitness-for-purpose of test methods and sampling plans that would benefit industry, government, and the public health sector. In fact, AOAC has already engaged many key stakeholders from government, industry, and academia. In addition to UFPA, AOAC received letters of support for the proposal from FDA, Safe Tables Our Priority (S.T.O.P.), California Leafy Green Handlers Marketing Agreement (LGMA), Costco Wholesale, Yum! Brands (the parent company to Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut), Chiquita/Fresh Express, Taylor Farms, Ready Pac, and Earthbound Farms. AOAC has also engaged companies that are leaders in developing pathogen testing systems, including 3M Microbiology, AES Chemunex, BioControl Systems Inc., Bio-Rad, DuPont Qualicon, Idaho Technology, Applied Biosystems, Matrix Microscience, and Strategic Diagnostics.

AOAC already has resources in place such as the Agricultural Materials Community and the AOAC Research Institute’s GovVal program, a new program that uses the Performance Tested Methods^SM (PTM) program as a base to evaluate test kits and government reference methods using samples from a common source.

Initially in the 3-year project--AOAC’s first foray into the world of grants—AOAC proposes to focus on leafy greens. AOAC proposes to develop a program in which consumers will benefit from potentially safer products. Validated sampling plans and test methods can provide increased assurance of the safety of the food before it reaches the consumers.

In the long-term, the goal is to use the stakeholder networks and program established as a result of the project to continue to develop, evaluate, and validate pathogen detection systems and sampling procedures for many analytes and matrixes of priority, which will help the fresh produce industry make in-field and postharvest decisions to help reduce the risk of foodborne illness. It is hoped that the initiative can be extended to include other fresh produce of interest to stakeholders, such as melons, tomatoes, and peppers.

AOAC is expected to hear sometime in April 2010 whether it was successful in receiving the grant award. Engagement of stakeholders, AOAC Organizational Affiliates, outreach, and education are key to the effort. For more information, contact Krystyna McIver, senior director, stakeholder communications, at kmciver@aoac.org or Scott Coates, chief scientific officer, at scoates@aoac.org.

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