Three scientists who have reviewed the research literature conclude that work needs to be done at the field level to reduce the risk of food-borne diseases.
They found that “some of the established bacterial contamination sources include contaminated manure, irrigation water, soil, livestock/ wildlife, and numerous factors influence the incidence, fate, transport, survival and proliferation of pathogens in the wide variety of sources where they are found.”
Given that many sources of contamination, and their additional finding that the harmful bacteria “can colonize and persist on fresh produce using a variety of mechanisms,” they say, “and a deeper understanding of pathogen survival and growth on fresh produce in the field are required to reduce risk to human health and the associated economic consequences.”
And they also say this is not a small thing.
“Overall, microbiological hazards are significant,” they write in the scientific journal, Food Microbiology.
The authorsare Oluwadara Oluwaseun Alegbeleye,Ian Singleton andAnderson S. Sant’Ana.
