Fresh Culinary Herbs - Food and Drug Administration

Commodity Specific Food Safety Guidelines for the Production, Harvest, Post-Harvest, and Processing Unit Operations of

Fresh Culinary Herbs

January 24, 2013 Version 1

DISCLAIMER These guidelines are intended only to convey the best practices associated with the industry as research and practice advance; however, guidelines may change. For this reason, it is recommended that readers periodically evaluate the applicability of any recommendations in light of particular situations and changing standards. The authors, contributors and reviewers make no claims or warranties about any specific actions contained herein.

It is the responsibility of any purveyor of food to maintain strict compliance with all local, state and federal laws, rules and regulations. These guidelines are designed to facilitate inquiries and developing information that must be independently evaluated by all parties with regard to compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. The providers of these documents do not certify compliance with these guidelines and do not endorse companies or products based upon their use of these guidelines.

Acknowledgements

Contributors and Reviewers

Development of the Commodity Specific Food Safety Guidelines for the Production, Harvest, Post-Harvest, and

Processing Unit Operations of Herbs was made possible by the dedicated contribution of the following individuals:

Industry and academic members (and their affiliation during the guidance development process):

Susan Ajeska, NewStar Fresh Foods, LLC

Rob Atwill, Ph.D., University of California, Davis

Arin Bauer, Texas AgriLife Extension Service

Roger Becker, Gold Coast Packing

Willette M. Crawford, Ph.D., MPH, McEntire Produce, Inc.

Jessica Cueto, Pablos Produce

Mayra Cuevas, Harvest Sensations

Barry Eisenberg, Ph.D., United Fresh Produce Association

Thea Eubanks, NewStar Fresh Foods, LLC

Daniel Garcia, Ippolito International

Laura Giudici Mills, Metz Fresh, LLC Consultant

Elvia Gonzales, Frontera Produce

Ashley Gregory, Texas AgriLife Extension Service

Linda Harris, Ph.D., University of California, Davis

Johnna Hepner, Produce Marketing Association

Richard Hill, J&D Produce Inc.

Michele Jay-Russell, DVM, Ph.D., University of California, Davis

Jason Kawata, Taylor Farms

Betsy Klein, Frontera Produce

Wesley Kline, Ph.D., Rutgers Cooperative

Extension of Cumberland County

Sharan Lanini, Chiquita Fresh Express

Afreen Malik, Ocean Mist

Bob Martin, Rio Farms

Brendan Miele, Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo Inc.

Tim Minami, Muranaka Farm

Miguel Morales, GN Productores Agr?colas s. de r.l. de c.v.,

Dave Murphy, Boskovich Farms

Jessie Palacios, Talley Farms

Cosme Pina, Taylor Farms

Jess Quinlan, Sabor Farms

Colby Rubbo, Costa Farms

Mary Sanburn, Harvest Sensations

Mike Scarcella, Ippolito International

Trevor Suslow, Ph.D., University of California, Davis

Abby Taylor-Silva, Grower-Shipper Association

Francisco Valdes, Taylor Farms

Rick VanVranken, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, NJ

Mike Villaneva, California Leafy Green Products Handler

Marketing Agreement

Kami Weddle, Rousseau Farming Company

Governmental agency members: Cecilia Crowley, U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Kathleen Staley, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. United States Department of Agriculture

Technical review conducted by: Larry Beuchat, Ph.D., University of Georgia

Gale Prince, Sage Food Safety Consultants

Robert Whitaker, Ph.D., Produce Marketing Association

Coordinated under the leadership of: Hank Giclas, Western Growers

Sonia Salas, Western Growers

Susan Leaman, Intertox, Inc.

Food Safety Guidelines

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Fresh Culinary Herbs

Foreward

The diversity of methods in the production of fresh culinary herbs makes a single, universally applicable approach to food safety planning complicated. For the purposes of this document, the term, fresh culinary herbs includes all varieties of basil, chervil, chives, cilantro, culantro, dill, lemon verbena, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, savory, sorrel, tarragon, and thyme. It is important that each firm that grows and handles fresh culinary herbs assess its operations and implement methods to meet their individual needs. What is most important is that basic food safety program components are implemented by producers to ensure fresh culinary herb product safety for consumers. Whatever the preferred production method for a single producer, fresh culinary herb producers and handlers agree that the following basic principles should serve as the foundation for all food safety programs within their segment of the industry:

? Fresh culinary herbs have occasionally been associated with human pathogens and illness; therefore, in addressing the potential sources of contamination, fresh culinary herb food safety programs should pay special attention to planting and growing conditions, agricultural practices at all phases of production, and harvest and post-harvest fresh culinary herb handling.

? Fresh culinary herb producers and handlers recognize that once fresh culinary herbs are contaminated, completely removing or killing pathogens is unlikely; therefore, prevention of microbial contamination at all steps from production to distribution is strongly favored over treatments to eliminate contamination after it has occurred.

? Fresh culinary herb producers and handlers support implementation and documentation of food safety programs that utilize risk assessment techniques in order to identify all plausible risks, prioritize operation-specific risks, and use a preventive approach to ensure the safety of fresh culinary herbs.

? Fresh culinary herb producers and handlers also support and encourage routine and regularly scheduled food safety awareness training for all persons who handle fresh culinary herbs during production, harvesting and processing operations.

In the sections that follow, the Best Practices were developed to address each identified potential food safety issue. However, it is the responsibility of individuals and companies involved in the field to-fork fresh culinary herb supply chain to determine what actions are appropriate in their individual operations. The potential food safety issues identified in each unit operation section are focused only on fresh culinary herbs and may or may not apply to other specialty crops. Particular best practices that address any identified issue are not the only means by which the issue may be addressed. Individuals and companies are encouraged to use this document to evaluate, develop, and enhance their own food safety programs.

The document contains a list of reference documents that offer detailed and important background information regarding how to develop food safety programs. Each company's comprehensive food safety program and its various components (e.g. employee training, standard operating procedures) should be developed based upon an analysis of the potential hazards in that specific company's operations. As presented, this guidance document is not sufficient to serve as an action plan for any specific operation, but should be viewed as a starting point. This guidance document is intended to supplement, not replace, already established food safety program components such as Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs), and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and/or Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Control Point (HARPC) guidelines for the fresh fruit and vegetable industry.

Food Safety Guidelines

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Fresh Culinary Herbs

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