{"id":14935,"date":"2019-09-04T06:55:33","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T11:55:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/foodsafetytrainingcertification.com\/?p=14935"},"modified":"2020-03-06T17:26:31","modified_gmt":"2020-03-06T23:26:31","slug":"food-safety-produce-garden-flooding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/foodsafetytrainingcertification.com\/food-safety-news\/food-safety-produce-garden-flooding\/","title":{"rendered":"Produce Exposed to Flood Waters is Not Safe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Produce cannot safely be salvaged in flooded areas.\u00a0 According to the FDA, if the edible portion of a crop is exposed to flood waters, it is considered adulterated and is not safe for human consumption. It\u2019s also also usually unacceptable as animal food.<\/p>\n

Heavy rains followed by flooding can negatively affect plants and vegetables in a crop or garden. Flood waters can be contaminated with oil, heavy metals, toxic chemicals, raw sewage, farm animal waste, agricultural run-off, pathogens, bacteria and other biohazards – and can create foodborne illness or food poisoning.<\/p>\n

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FDA Recommendation – Flooded Produce<\/h3>\n

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA),\u00a0<\/a>if a garden has been exposed to floodwater, human and foodborne pathogens such as norovirus, Salmonella<\/em>, pathogenic E. coli<\/em>, Hepatitis A, Giardia and Cryptosporidium, have also likely been introduced into the garden.<\/p>\n

Thus, the FDA considers crops and gardens – where the edible portion has come in contact with flood waters – to be \u2018adulterated\u2019 and not to be sold or consumed.<\/p>\n

Following FDA guidelines, growers should discard all crops that have edible portions that have come in contact with flood water.<\/p>\n

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Produce cannot safely be salvaged in flooded areas<\/h3>\n

Numerous federal and state health and agriculture websites, as well as colleges and universities, advise against trying to salvage vegetables or fruits from gardens or fields that were under floodwaters.<\/p>\n

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