FDA has released the first food safety test results from samples of raw milk, cucumbers and hot peppers, part of an ongoing program to ensure contaminated products don’t fall into consumers’ hands.
In 2014, FDA adopted a new, proactive sampling program for a variety of commodities to learn more about the prevalence of disease-causing bacteria and to help the agency identify patterns that may help predict and prevent future contamination. These large-scale microbiological sampling assignments were designed to collect a statistically determined number of samples of certain commodities in 12 to 18 months and test them for certain types of bacteria that can cause foodborne illnesses. Raw milk aged 60 days, cucumbers and hot peppers were selected as the commodities to be studied in the first year of testing.