Microbial ecology of fresh vegetables

Authors

J. Zheng, US Food and Drug Administration
A. De Jesus, US Food and Drug Administration
S. Sahu, US Food and Drug Administration
A. E. Hayford, US Food and Drug Administration
Y. Luo, USDA
A. R. Datta, US Food and Drug Administration
E. W. Brown, US Food and Drug Administration
R. Bell, US Food and Drug Administration

Date of this Version

2017

Document Type

Article

Citation

Quantitative Microbiology in Food Processing: Modeling the Microbial Ecology, First Edition.

Comments

U.S. government work.

Abstract

The total consumption of fresh and processed vegetables has exceeded 123 kg per capita in the United States and 118 kg per capita in the European Union (http://www.helgilibrary.com/ indicators/index/vegetable‐consumption‐percapita) in 2009. Changes in lifestyles and consumption trends have prompted the sustained growth of fresh‐cut or minimally processed vegetables that are fresh and ready‐to‐eat (RTE). In 2011, for example, total US fresh‐cut produce sales through both food service and retail channels were estimated to surpass $27 billion (Cook et al., 2012).