Evaluation of the Baseline Levels of Microbial Pathogens on Washington State Fresh Market Apples and Mitigation Measures Used to Eliminate Contamination

The purpose of this proposed research project is to determine the occurrence of microbial
contaminants on fresh market apples and identify practices industry participants are using to
mitigate these contaminants. Intertox will work closely with the Washington Tree Fruit
Research Commission and its partners to identify available datasets of microbial contaminant
levels, ensuring the confidentiality of any private data, and to develop datasets if needed.<P>
Data
will be evaluated for their quality and relevance, and compiled into a database. Once complete,
this dataset will be used to derive statistics on baseline microbial populations. Finally, the
effectiveness of mitigation practices on reducing microbial levels will be examined.