What’s New in the Literature – October and Early November 2026

Over the past month and into early November, several food safety publications on fresh produce have caught my attention. They cover topics ranging from urban farming and UV-C treatment for ready-to-eat salads to runoff and water modeling. Below is a summary of recent articles that may be of interest to our industry.

Event-based surface-water connectivity modeling of leafy-green farm exposure to livestock-associated runoff

This study developed and applied an event-based surface water connectivity model to estimate relative livestock-associated runoff exposure for produce farms in the Salinas Valley, California. Briefly, the authors mapped cattle pasture and animal feeding operations within the study area and used rainfall data from 48 storm events (2018-2021) to estimate potential runoff and drainage pathways, identifying which farms were downstream of these sources. Most farms had no upstream pasture connection, and findings from this study suggest that hydrologic connectivity, not geographic proximity, determines a farm exposure to livestock runoff, and that large storm events drive the highest exposure.

Predicting the occurrence of Salmonella, Escherichia coli, and pathogenic E. coliin agricultural ponds in the Georgia Coastal Plain

A study in the Journal of Environmental Quality presents an explanatory modeling approach to predict the occurrence of foodborne pathogens and indicator organisms in GA surface water. The authors' main objective was to evaluate whether easy-to-measure water quality and weather variables could explain E. coli levels and the occurrence of foodborne pathogens across irrigation ponds. Over 27 months, the authors collected water samples and other variables, including temperature, pH, turbidity, nitrogen, and precipitation, and tested several regression and machine learning models. Their models suggest that rainfall 3 days before sampling and connectivity are among the most useful predictors for generic E. coli; however, for pathogens, the models performed poorly because pathogens were rarely detected. The authors concluded that no easily measured factor reliably predicted pathogen presence, reinforcing that generic E. coli alone is not a dependable pathogen indicator. The main takeaway for industry is that site-specific, longitudinal monitoring can help operations establish baseline trends and detect deviations, and that while models can be useful for complex matrices like water, it is important to consider methodological differences, sample size, number of observations, and potential over- and underestimations. Although an individual study's findings may be limited, aggregating data increases the statistical power of modeling.

Urban farms represent highly heterogeneous environments, complicating on-farm food safety efforts

A new article in the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development characterizes farm practices and grower perspectives on microbiological and chemical hazards in urban agriculture in the U.S. Briefly, 43 urban farms were interviewed across 3 growing regions. The authors note that many urban farms fall below the sales thresholds for compliance with the Produce Safety Rule (PSR); consequently, market requirements often shape food safety practices rather than regulatory oversight. The authors also suggest that outreach and education are needed in these settings, particularly regarding chemical hazards. Their assessment found that growers expressed concerns about legacy chemical contamination and that many operations may have been established on repurposed land.

Impact of spoilage organisms on the behavior of foodborne pathogens on fresh produce during storage

A recent scoping review in Current Opinion in Food Science examines the role of spoilage organisms in shaping the behavior of foodborne pathogens on fresh produce during storage. The authors suggest that postharvest conditions may create opportunities for the growth and persistence of both pathogens and spoilage organisms. Factors that may influence microbial decay include storage temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric gas composition, fungicide applications, and waxing. The authors emphasize the need to evaluate interactions between foodborne pathogens, including bacteria, and the fungal microbiota. As I am currently working on onion best practices, I am also considering tissue integrity and how all these factors may interact.

Feasible Approaches of Ultraviolet-C Light to Improve Food Safety for Ready-to-Eat Salads

A review in the Journal of Food Science examined the current use of UV-C light for ready-to-eat salads. The authors note that chemical washing alone may be insufficient to guarantee microbial safety because several factors can affect sanitizer effectiveness (e.g., crop characteristics, organic material load, etc.). The authors propose that combining multiple hurdles, such as sanitizers with UV-C treatment or ultrasound, may enhance pathogen reduction while minimizing quality damage associated with high UV doses.