The Horticultural Development Company is reminding UK growers of its 16-page microbial food safety fact sheet as a useful reference in the face of the ongoing E-coli scare.

The guidance was produced last year to help UK producers deal with risks posed by microbial contamination and was funded jointly by the HDC and Food Standards Agency. Monitoring Microbial Food Safety of Fresh Produce provides background information on the main food-poisoning organisms encountered in the fresh produce industry, how to test for them and how to interpret the results.

In addition, HDC and the FSA have funded the development of a web-based tool that allows growers to assess the risk of microbial contamination in their business.