ARE FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES SAFE TO EAT IN LEBANON?

The purpose of this article is to advise government officials, food inspectors’ industry of the importance of the ongoing monitoring of Hepatitis A virus in imported fresh fruits and vegetables that are cultured in direct contact with soil and classified as RTE (Ready To Eat)

Importation of food which poses a risk to human health is an offence

Importers and fruit/ vegetable producers must be aware that the presence of pathogens including the Hepatitis A virus poses a risk to human health, it is an offence to import food into Lebanon if the importer knows, or ought reasonably to have known, that it poses a risk to human health.

Guidance to assist industry on implementing GAP and GHP

Importers and government must ensure that supply chains for fresh fruits and vegetables that are in direct contact with soil and consumed without processing, have effective control strategies, in the form of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Hygienic Practices (GHP). Fresh fruits and vegetables sourced through supply chains that do not have proper GAP and GHP controls in place may pose a risk to human health. For guidance on best practice to manage the hazard of virus contamination in foods through the implementation of GAP and GHP, importers should refer to the Codex Alimentarius Commission guideline document CAC/RCP 53-2003, ‘Code of hygienic practice for fresh fruits and vegetables’ and CAC/GL 79-2012, ‘Guidelines on the Application of General Principles of Food Hygiene to the Control of Viruses in Food’.

Human sewage and faeces in irrigation

None complying with GAP in irrigating of cultured fruits and vegetables in any country will lead to the possibility of acquiring viruses through contact chain between soil and fruits, with untreated sewage water, direct contact with human sewage is the normal route of contamination for bivalve mollusks. It can also be a cause of pre-harvest contamination of fresh produce items through the use of sewage-contaminated waters in irrigation, washing, also as fertilizer for agrochemical application. A specific concern with sewagerelated contamination is that it can result in the food becoming contaminated with multiple viruses. As a result, people may become infected with more than one virus strain simultaneously (FAO/WHO report 2016). The presence of related virus strains (in general within one genus) replicating in a single host (cell) may provide an environment conducive to the evolution of new virus strains. This can occur in one of two ways.

1- Process is called recombination and has been demonstrated for the HAV. Although there is currently no evidence that recombinant HAV have properties that differ from the “original” virus strains. 2- The unpredictable behavior of recombinant viruses is a potential concern in terms of food safety. For HAV, another process called genomic re-assortment in the progeny of two viruses after co-infection of a single cell may lead to new viruses.

Hepatitis A virus adverse health effects:

HAV is classified by the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods (ICMSF) as a serious hazard for the general population as it causes incapacitating but not usually life-threatening illness of moderate duration and sequel is rare. Symptoms associated with HAV infection include fever, nausea, anorexia, malaise, vomiting, diarrhea, muscular pain and often jaundice. Jaundice generally occurs three to five days after the onset of gastrointestinal symptoms. Illness typically occurs 15 – 50 days after infection and HAV is shed in the faeces up to two weeks before, and for several weeks after, onset of illness. The duration of illness is typically one to two weeks, although prolonged or relapsing cases may continue for up to six months in a minority of patients. People of all ages are susceptible to HAV infection (unless they have immunity from a previous infection or vaccination). The disease is milder in young children under six years, with many cases being symptomatic.

Testing for Hepatitis A virus (HAV)

Testing for HAV in food is no longer problematic. Due to the newly developed methods used (extraction of the virus from the food followed by molecular-based methods to detect virus RNA) using RT-PCR, real-time RT-PCR, or nucleic acid sequencebased amplification (NASBA) or micro-arrays with a turnaround time of 24 hours for result release with minimal impact on shelf life. However, the test results are subject to variability depending on the type of food, the distribution of virus within the food matrix and the presence of material that can interfere with the test leading to false negative findings. Additionally, the level of virus in contaminated food can be extremely low, below the level that can be detected by other available timeconsuming conventional methods.

Action being taken on fresh fruits and vegetables under the Imported Food Inspection Scheme

In Lebanon there are currently no effective, realistic and validated risk management options to eliminate viral contamination of fresh produce or imported fruits and vegetables prior to consumption. It is highly recommended to have good hygiene, manufacturing and agricultural practices in fruits and vegetables produced in and imported to our country. Thus, implementing general hygiene provisions for primary production and associated operations, outlines general provisions for the hygienic production of food, including fresh produce, this includes hygienic requirements for water used in irrigation; health and hygiene of food handlers; cleaning and sanitizing of facilities, equipment and vehicles; animal and pest exclusion; storage of waste; and the use of biocides. In response to the information mentioned here within, the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture is requested to implement monitoring and testing imports from overseas producer and suppliers of fresh fruits and vegetables for Hepatitis A that fall under RTE criteria.