Microbiological hazards in fresh leafy vegetables and herbs: meeting report

Overview

Production systems for leafy vegetables and herbs fall into two broad categories; open field and protected culture systems. Within these two categories there can be wide variation in terms of inputs, size, location, environmental conditions, productivity and target markets. Such variation from one production site to another highlights the difficulty of providing very specific guidance. Knowing and understanding a particular production environment is critical to the identification and implementation of appropriate mitigation.

The meeting report highlights the disconnect that often exists between knowledge of the production environment and knowledge of what constitutes a hazard. The variability that exists between production environments means that the capacity to identify hazards within a system is critical to identifying and applying relevant and effective mitigation.