Tomatoes are a highly nutritious source of minerals, vitamins, and phytonutrients. For the nation to realize the associated benefits, it is important to maintain a high level of consumer confidence in the microbial safety of tomatoes. To that end, scientists from the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and the University of Florida teamed with Florida tomato growers and packers to address critical food safety data gaps. The industry used their findings to develop “Commodity Specific Food Safety Guidelines for the Fresh Tomato Supply Chain,” adoption of which will reduce microbiological hazards associated with fresh and fresh-cut tomatoes.

NIFA supports this research with the Specialty Crops Research Initiative.

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