S23 - Session P8 - Industry partnerships drive food safety research for fresh produce in Australia and New Zealand

Authors: Robyn McConchie *, Tina Bell, Hayriye Bozkurt, Dee Carter, Elizabeth Frankish, Agam Nangul, Joanna Rothwell, Hongshan Shang, Dao Tran, Emily White, Ingrid Zamora

Australia and New Zealand have largely relied on international peer reviewed research to provide the knowledge that underpins our fresh produce safety systems. To provide more of an Australian/NZ context, the Centre for Food Safety in the Fresh Produce Industry, jointly funded by the Australian Research Council, 18 partner organisations, and the University of Sydney, was established. We have created an innovation platform of food safety researchers, industry personnel and training organisations, who together, have enhanced capacity and skills to significantly advance the safety of fruit and vegetables produced in Australia. The objectives of the Centre were two-fold: to conduct industry-focused research to develop practical solutions to prevent or minimise food safety risks across the value chain and, to educate a new generation of research professionals to drive future food safety research. The research was grouped into three broad areas: (a) pre-harvest; (b) postharvest; and (c) risk assessment. Pre-harvest research outputs include development of decision-making tools for more effective risk management in irrigation water sources, a meta-analysis on environmental drivers for the persistence of Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. in manure-amended soils and recommendations for optimum harvest exclusion periods after application, and use of novel pre-harvest sanitizer treatments to inactivate or suppress growth of pathogens on leafy greens. Postharvest research outputs used models to describe the growth and persistence of Listeria monocytogenes on apples and cucumbers during international and domestic supply chains, interactions between sanitizers and fungicides, and use of plasma activated water as a novel sanitizer. Under risk assessments, quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) models were developed estimating risk from preharvest environmental conditions for leafy greens and postharvest practices for apples. A Food Safety Management System Diagnostic Tool was developed for apple packhouses. This presentation reports on key implications for industry.