In an effort to gain a deeper understanding of the range of
pathogen transfer that occurs between ready-to-eat produce items
and common kitchen utensils, two different approaches were takenin this study. In the first approach, the prevalence and level of
contamination incurred on clean and soiled knives and graters used
to process an assortment of Salmonella- or E. coli O157:H7-
contaminated produce items was evaluated. In the second
approach, the extent of transfer of these pathogens to uncontaminated
produce items was assessed when knives and graters that
had been contaminated from processing contaminated produce
were used. Since a fundamental assumption to conducting such a
study entails that conditions for extraction of viable pathogens
from utensils and food be optimal, a preliminary study was also
performed whereby extraction solution formulations and physical
methods to dislodge Salmonella from utensils were compared.