Antimicrobial resistant zoonotic pathogens present on food constitute a direct risk to public health. Antimicrobial resistance genes in commensal or pathogenic strains form an indirect risk to public health, as they increase the gene pool from which pathogenic bacteria can pick up resistance traits. Food can be contaminated with antimicrobial resistant bacteria and/or antimicrobial resistance genes in several ways. A first way is the presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria on food selected by the use of antibiotics during agricultural production. A second route is the possible presence of resistance genes in bacteria that are intentionally added during the processing of food (starter cultures, probiotics, bioconserving microorganisms and bacteriophages). A last way is through cross-contamination with antimicrobial resistant bacteria during food processing. Raw food products can be consumed without having undergone prior processing or preservation and therefore hold a substantial risk for transfer of antimicrobial resistance to humans, as the eventually present resistant bacteria are not killed. As a consequence, transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes between bacteria after ingestion by humans may occur. Under minimal processing or preservation treatment conditions, sublethally damaged or stressed cells can be maintained in the food, inducing antimicrobial resistance build-up and enhancing the risk of resistance transfer. Food processes that kill bacteria in food products, decrease the risk of transmission of antimicrobial resistance.

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(word count = 400)In January 2011, a workshop was organized by the EU FP7 Veg-i-Trade project to capture opinions of stakeholders on food safety issues in the global fresh produce supply chain. Food safety experts from various stakeholder types in the farm-to-fork chain were represented: farmer related organizations (n=6), fresh produce processing and trading companies (n=17), retail (n=3), consumer organizations (n=2), competent authorities (n=7) and lastly research institutes and universities (n=19). The experts were grouped in nine discussion groups per type of stakeholder and asked to rank food safety issues via a scoring approach according to perceived importance from their stakeholder type point of view. Also information sources for opinion making, appropriate food safety control measures and perceived contextual factors increasingly challenging governance of food safety in fresh produce were ranked according to perceived importance. Although some differences were noted between opinions of the different stakeholders, there was in general an agreement on the main priorities in food safety of fresh produce. Bacterial pathogens were overall considered to be the most important food safety issue for fresh produce, followed by foodborne viruses, pesticide residues and mycotoxins. Alert systems such as the European Commission"s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) were considered as the most important source of information of food safety issues, followed by reports of international organizations (e.g. WHO, EFSA), legislative documents (e.g. EU legislation), national reports (e.g. on monitoring hazards, foodborne outbreaks) and exchange of information between people (informal contacts).Concerning the control measures, the application of good agricultural practices (GAP) was identified to be the most important control measure to assure the safety of fresh produce, followed by the application of good hygienic practices (GHP) and the certification of food safety management systems (FSMS). Increasing international trade and globalization were overall expected to have a large impact on food safety in fresh produce. Other contextual 3 factors perceived to be important were the food safety policies by governments and the (lack of) food safety knowledge by consumers and other stakeholders of the fresh produce supply chain. Although the various stakeholder groups may conceive issues differently from their proper position in the fresh produce supply chain, no deep disagreements emerged. This type of workshop enhances interaction and communication between stakeholders and contributes to a better understanding of each other"s concerns, constraints and motivating interests to deal with the food safety of the increasingly complex and globalized fresh produce supply chain. Key wordsdiscussion group, fresh produce, food safety issue, control measures, contextual factors, information source 4 IntroductionFresh produce is an important part of a healthy diet. Its consumption is known to have a protective health effe...

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