“Recent Cyclospora outbreaks, with limited evidence as to how they originated, have perplexed federal and state public health officials as well as food safety experts throughout the fresh produce industry, including Fresh Express,” Olivo said. “The purpose of the Fresh Express Blue-Ribbon Panel is to assemble an interdisciplinary group of independent scientific experts to better understand Cyclospora’s mode of action and how the industry can better guard against future outbreaks.”
According to Dr. Osterholm, who will lead the group of experts as Chair, the Panel will also provide a focused work group available to provide collaboration and support to investigators at the US Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state public health agencies, who are charged with understanding and solving the outbreaks. “The Cyclospora organism has contaminated certain fresh produce during spring and summer months, leaving public health officials unable to determine a confirmed origin despite their best efforts,” Osterholm stated. “Although the fresh produce industry works hard to ensure strong food safety standards, the yearly rounds of Cyclospora outbreaks now demand industry-focused attention.
The Fresh Express Blue-Ribbon Panel aims to address questions regarding the Cyclospora parasite’s mode of transfer to fresh produce, seasonal or supply chain concerns and potential targeted mitigation strategies.
Although rarely life-threatening, Cyclospora is a single-cell parasite with a life cycle that involves a human host and that causes symptoms such as watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever and fatigue in those who become infected. Cyclospora outbreaks have consistently appeared every spring and summer for years causing countless illnesses.
This summer (2018), the US has seen several Cyclospora clusters. However, despite intensive investigation, public health agencies have not yet been able to conclusively identify a confirmed origin for the outbreaks or to understand contamination pathways.
According to Fresh Express, the full roster of Panel members will be announced soon with a final report and recommendations planned for release in Quarter 1, 2019. Fresh Express stressed the importance of the collaborative nature of the Panel’s work, involving scientists, academic researchers, produce industry food safety experts and public health officials from around the world.
“The multiple recent Cyclospora outbreaks in the produce industry and their health consequences for consumers have gone too long without adequate explanation,” said Olivo, “and it’s time to focus on finding some answers.”
