Quick Tests, Water Quality, and Rinses for Food Safety:Considering Innovative Solutions While Defining Agriculture’s Needs
On March 23, 2012, Project 17, in collaboration with the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California and Hartnell College, convened an invitation-only think tank session to delineate the needs in the food safety arena for improved solutions in the areas of quick tests (on crops and fresh produce) and washes and rinses (in the processing stage). Twenty-two participants from the agricultural and university sectors joined the Project 17 team to focus on these two topics. Ten representatives of regional agricultural companies critiqued current solutions and outlined needs for improved technologies. The group heard presentations from two vendors (Hygiena with Micro-Snap quick test; and HyClo with an electrolyzed water rinse solution). The session was not focused on policy or legislation; rather it focused on what kinds of solutions could be put in place to satisfy the growers, customers and government agencies about the safety of produce from this region.