United Fresh Senior Vice President of Food Safety and Technology Dr. David Gombas provided an update on produce food safety during last week's 29th Annual Northwest Food Safety and Sanitation Workshop in Portland, Ore.

Immediately following the event, Dr. Gombas spoke before the inaugural Northwest Organic Food Safety Summit, discussing the Produce Traceability Initiative and the Produce GAPs Harmonization Initiative. Dr. Gombas also talked with the group about the microbiological challenges facing the fresh produce industry. 

Referring to a soon-to-be published white paper on microbiology developed by the United Fresh Food Safety & Technology Council, Dr. Gombas said, "Few rapid methods developed for testing of meats and other foods have been validated for produce and there are unique features to fresh produce that can lead to false results."

He also cautioned the attendees that they cannot test their way to safety, and that properly designed, microbiological testing may be able to help find and eliminate gross contamination when it occurs, but following a well designed food safety plan will always be more reliable than a negative test result.

For more information on United's food safety efforts and work toward audit harmonization, contact Dr. Gombas at 202-303-3400 ext. 411.