Journal of Food Processing & Technology

On-farm ecological dynamics and ways of cross-contamination of food borne bacterial pathogens from livestock to crops

International Conference on Food Microbiology

August 08-10, 2016 Birmingham, UK

Debabrata Biswas

University of Maryland, USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Food Process Technol

Abstract:

Livestock serve as reservoirs for enteric pathogens but pathogen survival potential outside their host and environmental factors that promote survival within agricultural farms specifically organic farms are not well characterized. Bacterial diversity and dynamics in soil and association with crops are also influenced by cropping methods, plant species, farming practices (with or without synthetic chemicals) and nutrient availability. Four critical food borne pathogens, Salmonella enteric, Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC), Campylobacter jejuni/coli and Listeria monocytogenes, can persist in the environment for extended periods. Diverse agroenvironments might have impact in ecology and survival ability of these bacterial pathogens as a result of various cropping methods. The ecological dynamics of these pathogens in various stages beginning from the animal sources to crops specifically leafy greens through soil, water, pest/insects and compost of animal waste as a fertilizer is not fully understood yet. This symposium will focus on the survival of these pathogens in various environments in integrated and segregated farms and possible ways to intervene by adopting several resource management practices to control cross-contamination of these bacterial pathogens in leafy green, fruits and vegetables. Such knowledge is crucial to identify on-farm critical control points for implementation of pathogen reduction strategies. Simultaneously, it will play a vital role to educate audiences including researchers, growers and marketers about the factors that influence survival and cross-contamination of these pathogens in foods.

Biography :

Email: dbiswas@umd.edu