Packer Daily
For coverage of Jensen Farms' August audit by PrimusLabs, go here.
(UPDATED COVERAGE, Oct. 20) Unsanitary conditions at the Colorado packing facility that shipped cantaloupes infected with listeria were likely contributors to the deadly listeriosis outbreak, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
That was the highlight of an Oct. 19 conference call with FDA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Colorado health officials on the results of inspections of Granada, Colo.-based Jensen Farms, the source of the contaminated cantaloupes.
As of Oct. 18, the outbreak had killed 25 and sickened 123 people in 26 states, according to CDC.
The results of FDA’s Sept. 22-23 inspection of Jensen’s open-air packing facility, which turned up 13 samples testing positive for listeria, raised numerous red flags, said Sherri McGarry, a food safety official with FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition:
According to McGarry and an FDA report, the inspection found:
The problems in the packing facility likely hastened the spread of listeria, officials said. As for how the listeria got into the shed, the FDA inspection yielded two possibilities:
McGarry and Jim Gorny, senior adviser for produce safety at the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said it was highly unusual for cantaloupe packing facilities to have the problems Jensen Farms has.
“We have no reason to believe (the problems at Jensen) are indicative of practices throughout the industry,” McGarry said.
In a news release, the Dinuba-based California Cantaloupe Advisory Board agreed, saying that the FDA inspection proved that the outbreak was “the result of one grower-shipper not following well-established food safety practices that have been in place throughout the melon industry for many years.”
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Comments (11)
Leave a commentMichael
Report AbuseWithout more infromation how can anyone say; We have no reason to believe (the problems at Jensen) are indicative of practices throughout the industry,” I would suggest that these problems need to be identified through inspections, sooner not later..
Rob
Report AbuseThe problems found at Jensen’s Farms could be duplicated at any number of road side produce stands. This problem should not be treated as an isolated incident but more as an eye opener to a much larger a present danger. People should not die as a result of eating health fruits and vegetables
Chuck
Report AbuseI'd like to know the Audit dates for Jensen Farms prior to the outbreak, whether they were Certified, and
if the problems were noted in a prior Audit.
Chris Koger
Report AbuseChuck,
We're trying to verify this, but the NY Times today reported Jensen Farms had a third-party audit just days before the recall, passing with a 96/100.
Chris Koger
News Editor
Chuck
Report AbuseThanks Chris
I has suspected as such. It would be good to know what the 4 failing points were scored upon even though Jensen barely passed.
Peter Clark
Report AbuseI suspected the packing house from the beginning and imagine the conditions there are not unique. Listeria prefers cool, moist environments.
Joe Davis
Report AbuseTo paraphrase Dr. Bob Whitacker at PMA; An audit is a snapshot. It doesn't show the entire panorama. Anybody can be perfect once a year. We need to focus on creating a culture of a year round food safety mindset. We as an industry have a responsibility to make it so. In addition, we need to take a responsibility in educating our consumers in Good Handling Practices. Conversely, the consumer has a responsiblity to excersize these same Good Handling Practices when they prepare their fresh produce for consumption. As Dr. Whitaker stated, "We as an industry are not doing a good job of communicating with our customers". I believe a concerted effort towards public food safety education sponsored by, or in partnership with the FDA, USDA, and our own PMA, United Fresh and etc. would go a long way towards the eventual elimination of these out breaks.
Chuck
Report AbuseJoe if the Audits were done properly this would have been noticed unless there was a breakdown that damaged the facility to allow water leakage after the Audit. On the other hand, once or twice a year Audits fall short of the opportunity to find these problems. Improper maintenance of the water supply is more likely the problem. Failure to maintain water purification at the packing plant, rather than leakage would be a more realistic cause.
40 years ago we were shipping Tomatoes from Mexico when we started having arrival problems. I went to Michigan to a Chain to troubleshoot the cause. Most boxes had from three to 10 Tomatoes that had totally
disintegrated. We were using a chlorinated water dump at the packing shed where upon inspecting, we found the chlorinators were not even installed. Installation and proper maintenance took care of the problem immediately. We determined on every Tomato that had a minute crack or pin head hole was the reason for some being infected while others weren't.
Cantaloupes are infamous for having stem end problems. In the past most all Cantaloupes were top iced at time of shipping, this ice was made with amounts of Chlorine which melted throughout the load killing Bacteria. This also worked on Peppers, Corn, Green Onions etc.
Alan Fitzgerald
Report AbuseMany of the problems experienced with bacteria in or on fresh produce could be eliminated if the shippers would just use warm water to wash their produce. Cantaloupe can be washed in water as hot as 140F for a period of one or two minutes and by so doing, whatever bacteria might be on the surface will be at least reduced. Also, by putting hot water over the fruit, there will be little tendency for the bacteria around the stem scar to be drawn into the fruit! Putting cantaloupe into cold water (colder than the fruit itself) only causes the produce to draw contaminated water into the stem! Same works for tomatoes except the temperature should be kept at around 105F . Too many shippers try to cut costs by refusing to heat (and thereby sterilize) the wash water. We find this particularly a problem with shippers in Mexico. They just don't understand what the problem is, and insist on washing their product in cold ditch water! Until those shippers who continue to wash their products in cold water realize that warm water is the best way, we will continue to have this kind of problem occurring from time to time!
Regards,
Alan Fitzgerald
Chuck
Report AbuseAlan
Charlie Pruess from Visalia, Ca used hot water on his Peaches 50+ years ago it worked like a charm!.
I've never have seen a reputable grower shipper in Mexico use untreated ditch water. I have from Honduras.
Terry
Report AbuseMy comment is not about the safety of the packing shed nor the operations of Jensen Farms. Jensen's score of 96 out of 100 is very hard too get . Those 4 pionts may have been backing up their computer system and so on. But my main comment is why didn't the people wash their fresh fruits and vegetables before they ate them. When a commodity leaves the facility they do not know who handles them on the truck, unloading , inspectors and so on... My best advice to everyone is take self responsibility and WASH before you eat!!!!