FDA Developing Food Safety Plan for Frozen, Fresh Berries
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is developing a food safety prevention strategy for fresh and frozen berries. The strategy is being developed in response to a history of hepatitis A (HAV) and norovirus (NoV) outbreaks linked to the consumption of both fresh and frozen berries.
According to FDA, in the U.S., there have been four HAV outbreaks and three NoV outbreaks linked to frozen berries from 1990 to 2016, and since 2011, there have been three HAV outbreaks linked to fresh berries, including a current outbreak linked to fresh organic strawberries. Globally, from 1983 to 2018, there were 50 outbreaks attributed to frozen berries: 36 caused by NoV and 14 by HAV. Freezing preserves berries but generally does not inactivate viruses that may be introduced at various points in the supply chain, such as by infected workers, contaminated water, or contaminated food contact surfaces. In addition, fresh berries are generally eaten raw without a kill step that could eliminate pathogens.