[Ecological and food safety considerations about products of vegetable origin]

Media have paid much attention in recent years to emerging microbiological problems in foods of plant origin. The potential for contamination of fruits and vegetables is high because of the wide variety of conditions to which produce is exposed during growth, harvest, processing and distribution. These considerations acquire great significance in the current scenario of the new processing techniques that offer attributes of convenience and fresh-likeness in response to changes in consumption patterns and increased demand of fresh and minimally processed fruits and vegetables. Thus, reliance on low temperature storage and on improved packaging materials/techniques have increased. Even if produce had not been considered a major vector for foodborne diseases, technologies that extend shelf-life by decreasing the rate of product deterioration might increase the risks associated with pathogenic microorganisms, especially of psychotropic nature, by allowing sufficient time for their growth when retarding the development of competitive spoilage organisms. Processing steps that modify the food microenvironment open new possibilities to support pathogens that, for ecological reason, would have never been naturally present in produce. Ecological and safety aspects related to fruits and vegetables as well as foodborne disease outbreaks traceable to produce and reportedly due to Salmonella and Shigella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridium botulinum, Aeromonas hydrophila, Campylobacter jejuni are reviewed.