Journal of Food Processing & Technology

Developing and implementing food safety approaches to vegetable industry in the USA

2^nd International Conference on Food Safety and Regulatory Measures

June 06-08, 2016 London,UK

Qingren Wang

University of Florida, USA

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Food Process Technol

Abstract:

Food safety has become one of important priorities to consumers, producers and handlers because, an outbreak of a foodborne illness can cause serious health problems and even death due to which the producers or handlers may face bankruptcy and litigation consequences. To improve food safety the USA government has lauched a number of programs, such as Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCPs), and the final rule of Food Safety Modernizaiton Act (FSMA) for agricultural products including fresh vegetables as general guidelines to minimize food safety risks of microbiological, chemical and physical hazards. The implementation of these guidelines in various commodities of vegetable industry requires development of the comprehensive extension program for specific crops during growing, harvesting, transportation, processing, packing, storage and handling of fresh vegetable products. The implementation of these programs is to focus on farm managers, on-site food safety coordinators, vegetable harvesters, shippers, packers, and processors to minimize any potential hazards associated with various aspects including land history, adjacent land use, water quality, worker hygiene, pesticide and fertilizer application, equipment sanitation, transportation, and processing procedures.

Biography :

Qingren Wang completed his PhD in 1996 with a Sino-Australia joint program. He is an Extension Agent for Commercial Vegetables and Pesticide Licensing at UF/ IFAS Miami-Dade Extension. He has published more than 130 papers in national and international journals.

Email: qrwang@ufl.edu