Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

1. Welcome and Introduction, Angela Shaw, Chair
a. Attending: Adhikari, Almenar, Brecht, Shaw, Suslow, Woods, Reuben Moore

2. Report from the Administrative Adviser, Reuben Moore
* Will send a letter about this meeting to faculty at other universities, covering these points:
o Free membership to United Fresh Conferences
o Interaction with industry
o University Showcase, which provides visibility to program/ departments/ university
o Collaboration with United Fresh’s Food Safety and Technology Council
o Research methods sharing among S294 members
o Share funding sources for research and extension work
o Expertise in various areas of produce safety
o Funding for multi-state conference meeting
o Establishment of personal relationships with colleagues in your field
o Need to include how to join the group
* Need to make this a 2 day meeting so that funding is an option
* Develop a podcast or something that showcases the work of this group
o 2-3 minute video for United Fresh
o Slides for each university
o Need to have a phone conference Jennifer McEntire and maybe someone else like John Toner; about future of this group
* Student scholarships
* 5 years until project renewal
o Provided a handout on steps to complete/submit an appendix E and objectives
o Website doesn’t have the publication on NIMSS
o Adjust time for travel for the day before
o Need 2 chairs and 2 secretary: one for quality and one for safety
o Need to include the annual meeting minutes, publications, photos,
o 60 days after the meeting to submit the meeting minutes and the annual report
o Update the impact statements for each university

3. Station Reports
Auburn – Floyd Woods reporting.
A new, interdisciplinary, food quality & safety working group has been formed. There are not separate food science, plant science or botany departments at Auburn. There are Horticulture and Crop & Soil departments. Research is being conducted on nutritional value (esp. carotenoids and phenolics) of banana, blackberry, blueberry kiwi, peach – 5 crops with health impacts (high antimicrobial/resistant starch/ phenolic/ nutritional aspects). Variation in quality characteristics among specialty bananas. Banana processing – chips and fries.

Florida – Jeff Brecht reporting.
Two mango projects have been funded by the National Mango Board: improving fresh cut quality to assist with market increase. Mangoes are imported from various countries throughout the year. First project (UF, ARS-FL, CA): sampled products at retail in Florida (two locations) and California throughout the year and determined they were picking fruit too early. Second project (UF, ARS-FL) is best practices for riper fresh-cut mangos.
Schneider has been measuring pathogen survival on different surfaces and with sanitizers in post-harvest handling.
Sargent/Brecht: Hydrocooling of various fruits and crops: hydrocool quickly with chlorine or other sanitizers did not increase decay (strawberry, blueberry, peach).
Sargent: broccoli cultivar evaluations; investigating pink rib in lettuce.
Danyluk, Schneider: FSMA training conducted throughout the state and coordinating training throughout the Southeast as head of the Southern Center consortium; 15% of the required population has been trained;
Iowa – Angela Shaw reporting.
FSMA education for growers (small, large, and food hubs); leading the Northern consortium. Also have developed mentoring programs for trainers (sending experienced trainers to train trainers in other states). Niche education for Hmong and Plainsmen population.
Juice validation work: High pressure and additives
Quality of herbs with lights and effect on flavors
Louisiana – Achyut Adhikari reporting.
600-700 growers have been impacted by produce worker safety training. English and Spanish extension work: State and federal promotion funding
Specialty Block Grants are the major funding source for research. Risk Management Grants are also a major funding source.
Research focuses on food safety interventions for produce: Lab part (pathogen challenge studies) and on-farm part (agricultural water and die-off). Sprouts and pecans are primary subjects with double cropping. Has done a lot of work with pecan industry to assist with FSMA compliance. Now pecan is exempt from the FSMA rule.
Michigan – Eva Almenar reporting.
Research program is focused on active packaging development and validation: Shelf life and safety of the produce through addition of additives and scavengers into the packaging materials. Developing and studying packages that absorb ethylene and other gases (CO2), including the effect of humidity on ethylene scavenging. Working with a variety of foods within the active packaging materials, such as ethylene elimination with cherries during post-harvest

There was a general discussion of the effects of light on produce quality and safety.

4. New Business
* Election of new Secretary for 2017-19. Floyd Woods unanimously elected.
* Discussion of communication methods
* For future meetings we may have to consider videoconference.
* Discussion of involvement with United Fresh, Food Safety & Technology Council.
* Renew association with United FSTC; Almenar: establish a consortium for research.
* Talk to United Fresh about how to get more in front of the industry
* Student scholarships from United Fresh
* Impact statements – should write for industry. Moore suggests sending those to United Fresh.
* Increasing project participation; improving attendance at annual meetings
* How to get word out to potential participants? Reuben will send an email blast to Expt. Stations. Societies, too?
* Attendance; USDA ARS one trip limit per year; poor funding from universities for travel to attend annual meeting; current project was approved very late – expt. stations may not have allocated funds for this FY (maybe next year will be better).
* Meeting with other associations: PMA, IFT, Food Protection Assoc.(?)
* Angela will convene a videoconference (virtual meeting) in October to discuss
* Call those who haven’t completed Appendix E (Brecht will call)
* Planning collaborations, including grant proposals
* Subcommittees will plan collaborations in their areas; meet at professional meetings (IFT, ASHS)
* Also, plan collaborative grant projects (SCRI CAPs grants) together for research in interdisciplinary areas.
* No other business

5. Adjourn
Next United Fresh Conference: June 10-12, 2019, in Chicago.

Objective 1. Evaluate methods of sampling and measuring flavor and nutrition of fresh-cut products to facilitate comparison to traditional shelf life factors.
* Determining aronia differences among basil, parsley, and dill grown under varied supplemental light wavelengths using consumer sensory and flash gas chromatograph-electronic nose analyses. (IA)
* Blue light dose response modeling of hydroponically grown basil in controlled environments. (IA)

Objective 2. Develop new strategies to improve and better maintain inherent fresh-cut product quality and nutrition.
* Evaluation of fresh-cut mango quality at retail (CA; FL; ARS-FL); determining how to prepare riper fresh-cut mango with adequate shelf life (ARS-FL; FL)
* Effect of retail display temperature on physical, sensory, and microbiological quality of leafy greens. (FL)
* Hydrocooling and forced-air cooling studies with blueberries, peaches and sweetcorn (FL)
* Storage temperature and coatings affect postharvest quality of red-fleshed pitaya (dragon fruit) (FL)
* Quality evaluation of commercial broccoli cultivars (FL)
* Postharvest quality of selected Asian vegetables: Hydrocooling and shipping container. (FL)
* Retail display temperature for fresh produce. Sensors were installed in 5 different states: California, New York, Florida, Iowa, and Nebraska. The sensors were restarted 2 or 3 times in each state, collecting 40,000 data points in each start, per position. (FL; IA; ARS-MD)
* Effect of microwave steamable bag design on the preservation of ascorbic acid and antioxidant capacity and on the physical properties of cooked frozen vegetables: A case study on broccoli (Brassica oleracea). (MI)
* Metal-organic frameworks have utility in sorption and release of ethylene and 1-methylcyclopropene in fresh produce packaging. (MI)
* Novel antimicrobial pouch to extend produce shelf life: a case study on blueberries. (MI)
* Step isotherm research considering porous materials for water adsorption/desorption analysis. (MI)
* Impact of temperature and relative humidity on the ethylene sorption capacity of selected scavengers. (MI)

Objective 3. Improve understanding of physiological mechanisms that affect fresh-cut product quality.
* Quality evaluation of breeding lines from the University of Florida lettuce breeding program and studies to determine the potential of reducing pink rib. (FL)

Objective 4. Determine critical factors in controlled inoculation studies with human pathogens and surrogates that influence the outcome of quantitative microbial risk assessments.
* Microbial evaluation of preprocessed and postprocessed tomatoes from Florida packinghouses. (FL)
* Biofilm formation by Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes in cantaloupe extracts on four food-contact surfaces. (MS)

Objective 5. Development and validation of novel diagnostic methods to determine presence of human pathogens and chemical hazards associated with fresh and fresh-cut products.
* Extension of sample hold time for method EPA 1603 on agricultural water and E.coli. No statistical difference (p>0.05) observed between numbers of E. coli cells at 6 and 24 hours. (IA)
* Midwest Region Round Two Needs Assessment for FSMA Produce Safety Rule. Findings indicated respondents (n=410) least understood biological soil amendment of animal origin requirements, water testing/usage requirements, and protection of crops from animal fecal contamination. The most preferred educational resources were online videos, extension publications/ fact sheets, and printed checklists. The most preferred way to learn new information was hands-on/experiential events, text-based information (i.e. books online/print), and visual based messages (i.e. posters). (IA)

Short-term Outcomes:
* A novel antimicrobial pouch to extend produce shelf life was developed and validated with blueberries.
* Project participants developed multiple employee FSMA training tools for training produce producers and fresh-cut processors (CA; IA).
* Determination that method EPA 1603 water sample hold time can be extended from 6 hours to 24 hours without affecting results.

Outputs:
Inventions. N/A

Patents. N/A

Abeysundara PDA, Dhowlaghar N, Nannapaneni R, Schilling MW, Chang S, Mahmoud B, Sharma CS, Ma DP. 2017. Growth and biofilm formation by Listeria monocytogenes in cantaloupe flesh and peel extracts on four food-contact surfaces at 22° C and 10° C. Food Control 80: 131-142.

Abeysundara PDA, Dhowlaghar N, Nannapaneni R, Schilling MW, Mahmoud B, Sharma CS, Ma DP. 2018. Salmonella enterica growth and biofilm formation in flesh and peel cantaloupe extracts on four food-contact surfaces. International Journal of Food Microbiology 280: 17-26.

Almenar, E. 2017. Packaging and shelf life of perishables. . PackagingIntegrity.com . https://www.packageintegrity.com/single-post/2017/09/29/Packaging-and-Shelf-Life-of-Perishables (accessed on 02 28 18).

Boz, Z., B.A. Welt, J.K. Brecht, W. Pelletier, E. McLamore, G.A. Kiker, and J.E. Butler. 2018. Review of challenges and advances in modification of food package headspace gases. J. Applied Packaging Res. 10: 62-97.

Brecht, J.K., Anne Plotto, Elizabeth A. Baldwin, Jinhe Bai, Sierra Jamir, Carlos Crisosto and Gayle Crisosto. 2017. Sensory quality of fresh-cut mango at the consumer level sampled through the year. Proc. Florida State Hort. Soc. 130: 158-164

Çekiç, S.K., J. De, M. Jubair and K.R. Schneider. 2017. Persistence of indigenous Escherichia coli in manure and manure-amended soil. J. Food Protect. 80(9): 1562-15473

Chopra, S., Dhumal, S., Abeli, P., Beaudry, R., Almenar, E. 2017. Metal-organic frameworks have utility in sorption and release of ethylene and 1-methylcyclopropene in fresh produce packaging.. Postharvest Biology and Technology. 130: 48-55

Hagan, L.L., Johnson, P. N. T., Sargent, S.A., Huber, D.J. and Berry, A.D. 2017. 1-methylcyclopropene treatment and storage conditions delay the ripening of plantain fruit while maintaining sensory characteristics of ampesi, the boiled food product. Intl. Food Research Journal. 24(2): 30-636

Makani, M.N., S.A. Sargent, L. Zotarelli, D.J. Huber and C.A. Sims. 2017. Harvest interval has greater effect on periderm maturity and storage quality of early-maturing, tablestock potato than nitrogen rate. HortScience. 52: 1390-1395

Manu, D., A. Mendonca, A. Daraba, J. Dickson, J. Sebranek, A. Shaw, and S. White. 2017. Antimicrobial efficacy of cinnamaldehyde against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica in carrot juice and mixed berry juices at 4C and 12C. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease 14(5): 302-307.

Razali, N.A., A.C. Nascimento Antunes, A.D. Berry, and S.A. Sargent. 2016. Postharvest storage temperature and coating effects on fruit quality of red-fleshed pitaya (Hylocereus costarricenses).. Proc. Florida State Hort. Soc. 129: 190-194

Razali, N.A., S.A. Sargent, A.D. Berry and J.K. Brecht. 2017. Harvest maturity affects fruit quality and postharvest behavior of red-fleshed pitaya fruit (Hylocereus costaricensis). Proc. Florida State Hort. Soc.. 130: 185-190

Sargent, S.A., A.D. Berry, J.K. Brecht, M. Santana, S. Zhang, and N. Ristow. 2017. Studies on quality of southern highbush blueberry cultivars: Effects of pulp temperature, impact and hydrocooling. . Acta Hort. . 1180: 497-502.

Schneider, K.R., De, J., Li, Y., Sreedharan, A., Goodrich Schneider, R., Danyluk, M.D., Pahl, D.M, Walsh, C.S., Todd-Searle, J., Schaffner, D.W., Kline, W. and Buchanan, R.L. 2017. Microbial evaluation of pre- and post-processed tomatoes from Florida, New Jersey and Maryland packinghouses. Food Control. 73: 511-517

Sreedharan, A., Li, Y., De, J., Gutierrez, A., Silverberg, R. and Schneider, K.R. 2017. Determination of optimum sanitizer levels for prevention of Salmonella cross-contamination of mature Round tomatoes in a laboratory model flume system. J. Food Protect. . 80(9): 1436-1442

Takeda, F., W.Q. Yang, C. Li, A. Freivalds, K. Sung, R. Xu, B. Hu, J. Williamson and S. Sargent. 2017. Applying new technologies to transform blueberry harvesting. Agronomy. 7(2): 33

Underthun, K., J. De, A. Gutierrez, R. Silverberg, and K.R. Schneider. 2017. Survival of Salmonella and Escherichia coli in two different soil types at Various moisture levels and temperatures. J. Food Protect. . 81(1): 150-157

Zhong, X.Y.; Siddiq, M.; Sogi, D.S.; Harte, B.; Dolan, K.D.; Almenar, E. 2017. Effect of microwave steamable bag design on the preservation of ascorbic acid and antioxidant capacity and on the physical properties of cooked frozen vegetables: A case study on broccoli (Brassica oleracea).. LWT- Food Science and Technology. 83: 165-171

Activities:
Schneider, with Danyluk, Goodrich and Ritenour (FL) conducted 35 Produce Safety Alliance trainings on FSMA for industry and university professionals.

Presentations.
Almenar, E. Materiales y tecnologías para envasado de alimentos y bebidas. Aplicaciones innovadoras. Food Pack Summit 2017 September 27, 2017. Mexico City, Mexico. Oral

Almenar, E. Trends in food packaging. Spring 2017 seminar program organized by the Southern Illinois University chemistry department March 10, 2017. Carbondale, IL, USA Oral

Almenar, E. Shelf-life prediction of packaged foods. 1st Food Aid Packaging Solutions Workshop Series. A USAID, USDA, and MSU Collaborative effort. May 24, 2017. East Lansing, MI, USA. Oral

Almenar, E. Food packaging trends. Workshop for the International Packaging Institute. September 13, 2017. East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Oral

Awalgaonkar, G., Almenar, E. Impact of temperature and relative humidity on the ethylene sorption capacity of selected scavengers. . The 2017 United Fresh Convention. June 14, 2017. Chicago, Illinois, USA. Poster

Brecht, J.K. New technology in postharvest plastics. ASHS annual meeting. September 17-22, 2017. Waikaloa, Hawaii

Brecht, J.K. Modified atmospheres: Benefits and risks to fresh-cut produce. Fresh?Cut Products: The Science and Art of Quality and Safety. September 26-28, 2017. Davis, CA

Brecht, J.K. Fresh?cut quality Issues regarding cell integrity, translucency & juice leakage. Fresh?Cut Products: The Science and Art of Quality and Safety. September 26-28, 2017. Davis, CA

Brecht, J.K. Banana, mango, pineapple, citrus. Fresh?Cut Products: The Science and Art of Quality and Safety. September 26-28, 2017. Davis, CA

Brecht, J.K. Sweet corn, cucumbers, squash. Fresh?Cut Products: The Science and Art of Quality and Safety. September 26-28, 2017. Davis, CA

Brecht, J.K., Anne Plotto , Elizabeth A. Baldwin, Jinhe Bai , Carlos Crisosto and Gayle Crisosto. Sensory quality of fresh-cut mango at the consumer level sampled through the year. FSHS annual meeting. June 4-6, 2017. Tampa, FL

Danyluk, M., Keith Schneider, Renee Goodrich and Mark Ritenour. Produce safety alliance training.. Course taught 35 times. 2017. Various locations in Florida

De, J., A. Sreedharan, Y. Li, A. Gutierrez, S. Sargent, K.R. Schneider. Comparison of forced-air cooling and hydrocooling on the microbial quality control of Florida blueberries. IAFP annual meeting. July 9-12, 2017. Tampa, FL

De, J., B. Bertoldi, A. Gutierrez, M. Jubair, S. Sargent, K.R. Schneider. Effect of postharvest cooling on the microbial quality and storage of Florida peaches. IAFP annual meeting. July 9-12, 2017. Tampa, FL

De, J., A. Sreedharan, A. Gutierrez, Y. Li, M. Jubair, K.R. Schneider. Microbial evaluation of preprocessed and postprocessed tomatoes from Florida packinghouses during 2013 to 2015. IAFP annual meeting. July 9-12, 2017. Tampa, FL

Dhowlaghar N, Qian S, Schilling WS, Nannapaneni R "Survival of acid stress adapted cells of Listeria monocytogenes serotypes 1/2a and 4b in commonly used disinfectants in broth and water" Arkansas Association of Food Protection 19-Sep-17 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR

Guamán, F.J., Steven A. Sargent, Jeffrey K. Brecht, Adrian D. Berry and Merce Santana. . Potential of partial cooling to expand handling options for fresh market strawberry. . FSHS annual meeting. June 4-6, 2017. Tampa, FL

Jackson-Davis, A., Aubrey Mendonca, Floyd Woods, and Salam Khan. Antibacterial Efficacy of Eugenol against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica in Unpasteurized Apple Juice Produced in Juice
Bars and Held at 4°C. International Association for Food Protection Annual Meeting, July 9-12, 2017, Tampa, Florida.

Lopez, K., Fehlberg, J. A., Oglesby, M.B., Lee, C-L., Ryser, E., Harte, J., Cho, S., Rubino, M., Almenar, E. Novel antimicrobial pouch to extend produce shelf life: a case study on blueberries. The 2017 United Fresh Convention. June 14, 2017. Chicago, Illinois, USA. Poster

Lopez, K., Fehlberg, J. A., Oglesby, M.B., Ryser, E., Harte, J., Cho, S., Rubino, M., Almenar, E. Development of a novel antimicrobial pouch made of polyethylene terephthalate coated with a UV-curable formulation containing 2-(E)-hexenal and its effects on blueberry shelf life. Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting and Food Expo (IFT 2017). June 28, 2017. Las Vegas, NV, USA. Oral

Manu, D., Mendonca, A., Daraba, A., Dickson, J.S, Sebranek, J., Shaw, A., and A DiSpirito. 2017. Cinnamaldehyde Enhances the Killing Effect of High-pressure Processing against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Enterica in Refrigerated (4°C) Carrot and Berry Juices. Poster Presentation: International Association for Food Protection Annual Meeting. Tampa, FL.

Mendonca, A. F. Raw Juice Characteristics: Influence on Pathogen Survival. Oral presentation at the Annual Meeting of the International Association for Food Protection, Tampa, FL., July 9-12, 2017.

Mendonca, A., Manu, D., Wang, F., Daraba, A. and A. Shaw. 2017. Antibacterial Efficacy of Geraniol against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica in Carrot Juice and a Mixed Berry Juice Held at 4°C. Poster Presentation: International Association for Food Protection Annual Meeting. Tampa, FL.

Overdiep, J., Shaw, A., Strohbehn, C., and L. Naeve. 2017. Development of a FSMA Preventive Controls for Human Food Rule Audit Checklist for Fruit and Vegetable Processors. Poster Presentation: International Association for Food Protection Annual Meeting. Tampa, FL.

Perry, B., Enderton, A., Strohbehn, C., Shaw, A., and L. Naeve. 2017. North Central Region Produce Needs Assessment of FSMA Produce Safety Rule. Poster Presentation: International Association for Food Protection Annual Meeting. Tampa, FL.

Razali, N.A., Steven A. Sargent, Adrian D. Berry and Jeffrey K. Brecht. Harvest maturity stage affects fruit quality and postharvest behavior of red-fleshed pitaya (Hylocereus costaricenses). . FSHS annual meeting. June 4-6, 2017. Tampa, FL

Razali, N.A., Steven A. Sargent, Charles A. Sims, Jeffrey K. Brecht, Adrian D. Berry, and Guiwen W Cheng". Potential of postharvest coatings to maintain freshness of red-fleshed pitaya (Hylocereus costaricenses).. ASHS annual meeting. September 17-22, 2017. Waikaloa, Hawaii

Sargent, S.A. Quality of small fruits – Trends and opportunities.. VII Meeting of Small Fruits and Native Fruits in MercoSul countries. Embrapa Clima Temperado. 1-Aug-17. Pelotas, RS, Brazil

Shaw, A., R. McGorrin, D. Reed, C. Callan, and M. Danyluk. 2017. National and Regional FSMA Training Centers: Application of Lessons Learned. Round table Oral Presentation: International Association for Food Protection Annual Meeting. Tampa, FL.

Shaw, A., Oyarzabel, O., Deng, K., and J. Rogers. 2017. Tools to Improve Interactive Food Safety Training for Small Food Facilities. Oral Presentation: International Association for Food Protection Annual Meeting. Tampa, FL.

Spruit, D., Almenar, E. Step isotherm research considering porous materials for water adsorption/desorption analysis. 2017 Mid-Michigan Symposium for Undergraduate Research Experiences (Mid-SURE). . July 26, 2017. East Lansing, MI, USA. Poster

Strohbehn, C., A. Shaw, and L. Naeve. 2017. The Impact of Online Modules on Farmers Market Vendors’ and Managers’ Knowledge about Good Agriculture Practices. Poster Presentation: 2017 National Extension Tourism Conference. Galveston, TX.

Thomas-Popo, E., Aubrey Mendonca, Samuel Kiprotich, Floyd Woods, and Armitra Jackson-Davis. Antimicrobial Effectiveness of Eugenol or Geraniol Alone or Combined against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica in Pineapple Juice Held at 4°C. International Association for Food Protection Annual Meeting, July 9-12, 2017, Tampa, Florida.

Wang, F., Mendonca, A., Daraba, A., Zhang, Y., Manu, D., Shaw, A., and B. Brehm-Stecher. 2017. Influence of Desiccation on Survival and Dry-heat Resistance of Long-term-survival Phase Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella PT 30 on Paper Discs and Raw Almonds. Poster Presentation: International Association for Food Protection Annual Meeting. Tampa, FL.

Wilson, L. 2017. Aronia jam and jelly composition and the federal standards. Midwest Aronia Association Annual Conference. Kansas.

Conference. Organized the Fresh-cut Products Workshop at UC Davis. (CA)