IUVA Conducts Webinar Focusing to Enhance Food Safety of Fresh Produce

International Ultraviolet Association Dec 19, 2018

Press Release Summary:

The International Ultraviolet Association’s (IUVA) webinar is focused on latest UV-based interventions to enhance food safety. This webinar is conducted in response to the outbreaks of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections within past 12 months that affected 200 people. The event will take place on Tuesday, January 15, 2019 from 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST and includes speakers: Keith Warriner, Professor and Department of Food Science Graduate Coordinator, University of Guelph, and Tatiana Koutchma, Research Scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Original Press Release:

IUVA Announces Webinar on UV-Based Interventions to Enhance the Food Safety of Fresh Produce

CHEVY CHASE, MD (December 17, 2018) In response to the outbreaks of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections linked to contaminated romaine lettuce within the last 12 months affecting over 200 people, the International Ultraviolet Association (IUVA) is announcing a free webinar titled, New UV-Based Interventions to Enhance the Food Safety of Fresh Produce.

New UV-Based Interventions to Enhance the Food Safety of Fresh Produce takes place on Tuesday, January 15, 2019 from 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST and is being presented by IUVA and SUNY-ESF with the following speakers: Keith Warriner, Professor and Department of Food Science Graduate Coordinator, University of Guelph, and Tatiana Koutchma, Research Scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Details on the webinar are available online via the SUNY-ESF program website.

Since 1995 there have been over 40 outbreaks linked to leafy greens although other produce types such as apples, cantaloupes and soft fruit have also been implicated. There are various routes from production through to the end-user by which pathogens become associated with fresh produce. For large scale outbreaks the typical source of pathogens is contaminated irrigation water with pathogens being spread during post-harvest processing. To date, the main interventions used to enhance the microbiological safety of fresh produce is through good agricultural practice (GAP), testing and post-harvest washing. However, none are effective as demonstrated by the on-going foodborne illness outbreaks. Consequently more effective treatments are required and those based on UV show promise. For example, UV treatment of irrigation water and water-assisted UV post-harvest washing is a further technology. The main challenge with UV is to access the shaded area on produce surfaces. To overcome this limitation, UV based methods based on Advanced Oxidative Process have been developed and currently being applied on a commercial scale. Additionally, research was conducted on application of multiple wavelengths LEDs against common food pathogens on surface of fresh produce. Based on risk analysis of recent outbreaks and produce production chain, this webinar will discuss new approaches to enhance it safety by using UV light through advanced oxidation, water assisted washing and UV LEDS interventions.

Additional information on UV for food safety will be available at the 2019 IUVA World Congress taking place February 10-13, 2019 in Sydney Australia and the BIG IDEAS for UV+EB Technology Conference taking place March 19-20, 2019 in Redondo Beach, California.