When North Carolina State University microbiologist Benjamin Chapman makes a smoothie, he like many of us uses frozen berries. But first, Chapman microwaves his frozen berries to boiling and then refreezes them again before tossing them into the blender.
Why the extra steps? Chapman wants to be sure that there are no pathogens in the frozen berries that could cause a foodborne illness for him or his family.
“What I am doing may be overkill, but it makes me feel good,” says Chapman, who has been making smoothies this way for the past eight to 10 years, since his children were infants and toddlers. “I don’t have any thoughts that the berries are super high-risk to making us sick. But to me, it is something that is quick and easy to do. It’s my own risk management.”
Nor is he alone in taking extra precautions with frozen berries. In May, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it began sampling frozen berries last fall to look for hepatitis A and norovirus, two of the most common foodborne illnesses. The federal agency said that it plans to test 2,000 samples over the next 18 months from both domestic and imported sources, including food processors, distribution centers, warehouses and retailers, such as grocery stores.
