It’s Official: Wash Your Fruit

California cantaloupe growers--whose sales were devastated a year ago by an unrelated contamination problem with Texas melons--now face an awkward produce industry promotional campaign that urges consumers to wash and peel produce as a safety “precaution.” Though unintended, the effort recalls last year, when at the height of the state’s $140-million cantaloupe harvest, there was a sudden fear of salmonella contamination.

The educational program, whose symbol is a running faucet rinsing produce, was launched this month by the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Assn. in Alexandria, Va. The effort includes in-store demonstrations, public service announcements on television and free leaflets.

“With many consumers concerned about food safety, we decided it was time to spread the message that with a few basic, simple precautions, such as washing or peeling fruits and vegetables, any dirt, bacteria or other substances present can be largely or completely removed,” said United’s Ed Downes.

California produce industry officials were unaware of any such program.

“This could be considered bad timing,” said Jerry Munson, manager of the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board in Dinuba. “I just hope that this doesn’t hurt us . . . because we are in the heart of our harvest. I would just prefer that people weren’t reminded.”

The Cantaloupe Advisory Board, the public-relations arm of the growers, is taking a decidedly low profile this year. Board members elected to reduce their annual promotional budget by 50% to $78,000. Munson attributed the cut to “discouragement” in light of last year’s problems.

In June and July, 1991, more than 300 people in 14 states and two Canadian provinces became ill with salmonellosis after the victims most likely consumed “contaminated cantaloupe from salad bars,” according to federal health officials.

While the original outbreak went almost unnoticed, an August study by the Centers for Disease Control reviewing the incident was reported as a completely new contamination incident by some news organizations. While the guilty Texas melons were long gone from the market, California’s crop was at its peak. The negative news stories steered consumers away from cantaloupes, leaving growers with tons of unsalable fruit and staggering losses estimated between $10 million and $25 million.

Last year’s contaminated melons were traced to Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. The coarse outer surface of the cantaloupes apparently picked up the bacteria from soil fertilized with manure or contaminated water from a sewage runoff. Salmonella entered the fruit’s flesh only when the melon was cut or sliced. Left unrefrigerated, as is the case in most salad bars, a cut melon provides the perfect environment for the growth of bacteria.

In the aftermath of the outbreak, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took the extraordinary step of classifying cut melons as a “potentially hazardous food,” requiring special handling by restaurateurs and grocers.

Last year’s salmonella problem offered the industry an incentive to devise a response to surface bacteria on fruit and vegetables, said Jan DeLyser of the Fresh Produce Council. “However, that was a situation that occurred with the food service industry and not in the consumers’ kitchen. Nevertheless, we are now striving to inform consumers on how to properly handle produce.”

“Obviously, we tried to respond (to the salmonella and cantaloupe incident). And things like that will continue to happen,” said Beth Chase, who handles media relations for United. “This (produce washing) program isn’t a direct result (of last year’s outbreak) but I can’t say that it doesn’t have anything to do with it.”

Some of the guidelines mentioned in United’s new produce-washing program include:

* Wash fruit and vegetables under running tap water to remove any dirt, bacteria or other substances.

* Leafy greens should be washed well to remove any grit. Remove outside leaves and discard.

* Fruit and vegetables that are not peeled should be scrubbed with a brush.