Update: FDA’s Sampling of Cucumbers and Hot Peppers
In 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) adopted a new, proactive sampling program for a variety of commodities--specifically raw milk cheese aged 60 days, cucumbers, and hot peppers--to learn more about the prevalence of disease-causing bacteria and to help the agency identify patterns that may help predict and prevent future contamination. These large-scale microbiological sampling assignments were designed to collect a statistically determined number of samples of certain commodities in 12 to 18 months and test them for certain types of bacteria that can cause foodborne illnesses.
This month, FDA has released new updates for each commodity sampled.
Cucumber Results as of 10/1/2016 The FDA plans to collect 1,600 cucumber samples (384 domestic, and 1,216 of international origin) under this assignment. As of the end of FY16, the agency had collected 292 domestic samples (76 percent) and 758 import samples (62 percent) of the totals. Testing is still underway.