Researchers Study E.coli Contamination in Bagged Lettuce, Spinach
Since 1993, at least 25 E. coli outbreaks have been traced to leafy green vegetables—primarily lettuce and spinach –and now researchers will be using RFID sensors to help determine why.
The three-year study is part of a larger project called “A Systems Approach to Minimize Escherichia coli O157:H7 Food Safety Hazards Associated with Fresh- and Fresh-Cut Leafy Greens,” and will be led by a group of scientists at California Polytechnic State University, funded by a $600,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Specifically, the researchers will investigate which temperature and humidity conditions favor the development of food-borne illness contamination in bagged spinach and lettuce.
RFID sensors will be placed in produce containers within trucks that are shipping the greens. These sensors will collect and transmit data (at two minute intervals!) about temperature and humidity levels under commercial transport and warehouse conditions.
All of this data will then be sent to Michigan State University. Researchers there will purposely inoculate greens with E.coli, and then expose these contaminated specimens to the temperature and humidity conditions recorded by the RFID sensors. The scientists will monitor the E.coli growth and make determinations about which conditions are most favorable for pathogen contamination.
Statistics from the federal government show that food-borne illnesses now sicken one in four Americans and kill 5,000 each year.
Of course, the food industry suffers from these outbreaks, too, losing not only precious consumer confidence, but billions of dollars in sales and legal costs, as well.
Research like this study about bagged greens is sorely needed, as is an overhaul of food safety laws. There also needs to be a push to improve both public and corporate awareness about food supply chain risks. To that end, an article in RFID Journal reports that California Polytechnic intends to make the results of this study available to those in the industry, in the form of a video for food handlers, truck drivers and trucking companies, as well as for food manufacturers, distributors and merchandisers.
