or illness from a pathogenic microorganism. Indeed, the UA team’s QMRA results showed a decreasing level of risk for overhead, furrow and drip irrigation (in that order), but as outstanding and important as it was, their work only looked at irrigation water and only used data from the Yuma region. QMRA is typically used to estimate the risk from the ingestion of a known pathogen by water or food. The UA team’s QMRA factored in the number of pathogenic E. coli in water, the amount transferred to produce, and E. coli survival rates on the crop (both pre- and post-harvest) to estimate the number of E. coli ingested by a consumer eating a typical serving. This information coupled with infective dose was then used to calculate the probability of illness. Granted, there is some uncertainty embedded in all QMRA models—but it is, to date, one of the more interesting studies that provides a focused look at food safety hazards associated with the routine production of fresh produce. More studies like this need to be conducted in other regions on other types of food safety hazards. Imagine if we understood the varying risks of hazards related to soil amendments or the proximity to different types and sizes
of animal operations in terms of “probability of illness.” We could then begin to look at these risks in total and assign our efforts and interventions to areas having the most significant positive impact on public health. Instead of spending time, energy and money on every risk under the sun, we could focus on the areas having the highest probability of illness and, therefore, have a more meaningful impact on public health. These types of studies are only possible with robust data sets. The data collected by industry presents a great opportunity to understand and evaluate hazards and risks more completely. Through better understanding, we can target controls to areas of highest impact, and save both time and money for industry as well as potentially reduce the number of foodborne illness outbreaks. Unfortunately, the data mostly resides within the walls of the discrete companies that collect it, which is why Western Growers has made it a priority to push for our member companies to share data with us so we can facilitate broader industry learning and improvement. For nearly a century, Western Growers has been a trusted grower and handler representative and though some folks may have reservations sharing this type of
information, we have a history of protecting individual member data and information while putting it to its highest use in academic, regulatory and industry circles. Today, I am calling on Western Growers members to share with us their food safety data in order to empower the industry to make meaningful changes to food safety programs. It is only through an engaged membership that we will continue to make progress for our members. The time is now to harness and analyze decades’ worth of data to more effectively improve food safety systems rather than heaping new, unexamined controls on growers without the confidence that they will indeed reduce illness. Western Growers members, across the board, have implemented the strongest preventive controls to date. These controls undoubtedly make a difference and have become the foundation for fresh produce food safety throughout the world. That said, we must embrace the use of quantitative data analysis to continue to evaluate where we are and how we can deploy the most effective controls rather than just reacting to outside recommendations based on anecdotal evidence.
2019 COMPENSATION AND HR PRACTICES SURVEYS THE DATA YOU NEED TO ATTRACT THE BEST
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NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2019
Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com
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