Don Stoeckel

PSA Special Projects Associate, Food Science

Don Stoeckel is an environmental microbiologist, associate at the Produce Safety Alliance and long-term collaborator with the Cornell National Good Agricultural Practices Program. Part of his research models public health consequences from water contamination.

Stoeckel says:

“Some have recommended avoiding fresh produce because produce items were involved in past outbreaks. However, as of mid-July, public health officials have not identified a food item or other vehicle behind the illnesses and have not made any recommendations about avoidance. Nutritious fresh fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet. Some general recommendations to reduce any food safety risk include:

• Wash produce in clean water. If there are pathogens on the produce, washing will remove some (but not all) of them from the surface.
• When practical, scrub produce surfaces and rinse both the produce and the brush with clean water. Scrubbing can remove more pathogens than washing alone; keeping the brush clean reduces the potential for cross contamination.
• Keep food preparation surfaces clean. 
• If desired and appropriate to the produce item, cook before eating. Cooking is an effective way to kill Cyclospora if it is present. 
• Wash your hands before and after handling and preparing food. 
• When you wash produce, use clean water from the tap. Do not fill the basin and dunk produce; washing produce in a common bath allows cross contamination. Health agencies advise against using dish soap or other surfactants that are not meant to be eaten and might not be washed off completely. Common additives like diluted household bleach or vinegar are not effective to kill parasites such as Cyclospora. 

“The best way to reduce risk is to avoid contamination in the first place at the farm. Human feces is believed to be the only source of Cyclospora cayetanensis, and the pathogen does not infect people until after it spends time (days to weeks) in the environment. This is why thinking about Cyclospora on the farm often focuses on contamination through water.”