FDA Completes Report on Processed Avocado and Guacamole Sampling
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released findings from a sampling assignment that collected and tested processed avocado and guacamole from November 2017 to September 2019. The assignment sought to estimate the prevalence of Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes in processed avocado and guacamole as part of FDA’s ongoing effort to proactively ensure food safety and prevent contaminated food from reaching consumers.
During the assignment, FDA collected and tested a total of 887 samples of both domestic and imported processed avocado and guacamole. The agency detected Salmonella spp. in two samples, which were later determined to be distinct samples of the same brand of domestically manufactured guacamole. Neither of these samples had received high-pressure processing (HPP) treatment. HPP is a kill step increasingly used to neutralize harmful pathogens.