scholarly journals The Persistence of Bacterial Pathogens in Surface Water and Its Impact on Global Food Safety

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1391
Author(s):  
Rebecca L. Bell ◽  
Julie A. Kase ◽  
Lisa M. Harrison ◽  
Kannan V. Balan ◽  
Uma Babu ◽  
...  

Water is vital to agriculture. It is essential that the water used for the production of fresh produce commodities be safe. Microbial pathogens are able to survive for extended periods of time in water. It is critical to understand their biology and ecology in this ecosystem in order to develop better mitigation strategies for farmers who grow these food crops. In this review the prevalence, persistence and ecology of four major foodborne pathogens, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Salmonella, Campylobacter and closely related Arcobacter, and Listeria monocytogenes, in water are discussed. These pathogens have been linked to fresh produce outbreaks, some with devastating consequences, where, in a few cases, the contamination event has been traced to water used for crop production or post-harvest activities. In addition, antimicrobial resistance, methods improvements, including the role of genomics in aiding in the understanding of these pathogens, are discussed. Finally, global initiatives to improve our knowledge base of these pathogens around the world are touched upon.

foresight ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
pp. 399-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Pinstrup‐Andersen ◽  
Marc J. Cohen

Although global food production has consistently kept pace with population growth, the gap between food production and demand in certain parts of the world is likely to remain. More than 800 million people in developing countries lack access to a minimally adequate diet. Continued productivity gains are essential on the supply side, because global population will increase by 73 million people a year over the next two decades. In this article we assess the current global food situation, look at the prospects through to the year 2020, and outline the policies needed to achieve food security for all. Emphasis is on the role that agricultural biotechnology might play in reaching this goal.


1975 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 268-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
W P Feistritzer

In this short article the author indicates the present stages of development of variety evaluation, testing, certification, production and marketing of quality seed—of cereals, industrial crops, pasture plants and vegetables—in major geographical regions of the world and draws attention to some of the underlying problems which must be faced in the future if further progress is to be made.


2020 ◽  
Vol 83 (11) ◽  
pp. 1934-1940
Author(s):  
ALDA F. A. PIRES ◽  
JAMES STOVER ◽  
ESTHER KUKIELKA ◽  
VIKTORIA HAGHANI ◽  
PEIMAN AMINABADI ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT As the number of farmers' markets and other direct-to-consumer marketing channels increases, it is crucial to understand the potential risks associated with consuming directly marketed animal products and fresh produce. The overall aim of this project was to assess the prevalence of Salmonella and Escherichia coli in animal products and produce sold at farmers' markets in Northern California and to evaluate the food safety risks associated with consuming meat (e.g., beef, pork, and poultry) and fresh produce purchased from farmers' markets. Animal products and produce were purchased from a total of 44 certified farmers' markets in Northern California. Salmonella was found in 6 (1.8%) of 338 animal products and in 0 (0%) of 128 produce samples; E. coli was found in 40 (31.3%) of 128 fresh produce samples. E. coli concentration in produce ranged from 0 to 2.96, with an overall average of 0.13 log (most probable number + 1)/100 mL. Salmonella isolates were resistant to nalidixic acid and tetracycline. The results from this study highlight the need for further training on mitigation strategies to reduce contamination of animal products and fresh produce by foodborne pathogens. HIGHLIGHTS


Author(s):  
Gaurav Mishra ◽  
Shailesh Pandey ◽  
Antara Dutta ◽  
Krishna Giri

Innovations in nanotechnology revolutionized the world in all sectors, including medicine, biotechnology, electronics, material science, energy sectors etc. In fact, the existing literature also points towards the potential application of nanotechnology in global food production and alarming situation of food scarcity. With the advancement of nanotechnology, use of nanofertilizers for yield enhancement, nanopesticides for insect pests and disease control and nanosensors to monitor soil and plant health becomes one of the most fascinating and promising lines of investigation to achieve sustainability. Furthermore, nanobiotechnology application enables gene transfer to expand the genetic base of crop varieties against different biotic and abiotic stresses. Some lacunas which may resist commercialization of nanotechnology are cost, industrial setup, and public attitude towards the health and food safety issues. Sincere attempts are required to answer these questions and develop suitable strategies to solve any problems, we might encounter in near future.


Author(s):  
Gaurav Mishra ◽  
Shailesh Pandey ◽  
Antara Dutta ◽  
Krishna Giri

Innovations in nanotechnology revolutionized the world in all sectors, including medicine, biotechnology, electronics, material science, energy sectors etc. In fact, the existing literature also points towards the potential application of nanotechnology in global food production and alarming situation of food scarcity. With the advancement of nanotechnology, use of nanofertilizers for yield enhancement, nanopesticides for insect pests and disease control and nanosensors to monitor soil and plant health becomes one of the most fascinating and promising lines of investigation to achieve sustainability. Furthermore, nanobiotechnology application enables gene transfer to expand the genetic base of crop varieties against different biotic and abiotic stresses. Some lacunas which may resist commercialization of nanotechnology are cost, industrial setup, and public attitude towards the health and food safety issues. Sincere attempts are required to answer these questions and develop suitable strategies to solve any problems, we might encounter in near future.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thais De Melo Ramos ◽  
Michele T. Jay-Russell ◽  
Patricia D. Millner ◽  
Jerome Nicholas Baron ◽  
James Stover ◽  
...  

Biological soil amendments of animal origin (BSAAOs), including untreated (e.g., raw or aged manure, or incompletely composted manure) and treated animal products (e.g., compost), are used for crop production and as part of soil health management. Application of BSAAO's must be done cautiously, as raw manure commonly contains enteric foodborne pathogens that can potentially contaminate edible produce that may be consumed without cooking. USDA National Organic Program (NOP) certified production systems follow the 90-or 120-day interval standards between applications of untreated BSAAOs and crop harvest, depending on whether the edible portions of the crops are in indirect or direct contact with the soil, respectively. This study was conducted to evaluate the survival of four foodborne pathogens in soils amended with BSAAOs and to examine the potential for bacterial transfer to fresh produce harvested from USDA NOP certified organic farms (19) from four states. Only 0.4% (2/527) of produce samples were positive for L. monocytogenes. Among the untreated manure and compost samples, 18.0% (42/233) were positive for at least one of the tested and culturable bacterial foodborne pathogens. The prevalence of non-O157 STEC and Salmonella in untreated manure was substantially > that of E. coli O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes. Of the 2,461 soil samples analyzed in this study, 12.9% (318) were positive for at least one pathogen. In soil amended with untreated manure, the prevalence of non-O157 STEC [7.7% (190) and L. monocytogenes (5.0% (122), was > that of Salmonella (1.1% (26)] or E. coli O157 [0.04% (1)]. Foodborne pathogen prevalence in the soil peaked after manure application and decreased significantly 30 days post-application (dpa). However, non-O157 STEC and L. monocytogenes were recovered from soil samples after 90 and 120 dpa. Results indicate that produce contamination by tested foodborne pathogens was infrequent, but these data should not be generalized outside of the specific wait-time regulations for organic crop production and the farms studied. Moreover, other sources of contamination, e.g., irrigation, wildlife, environmental conditions, cropping and management practices, should be considered. This study also provides multi-regional baseline data relating to current NOP application intervals and development of potential risk mitigation strategies to reduce pathogen persistence in soils amended with BSAAOs. These findings contribute to filling critical data gaps concerning occurrence of fecal pathogens in NOP-certified farming systems used for production of fresh produce in different US regions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 3382
Author(s):  
Sarchil Hama Qader ◽  
Jadu Dash ◽  
Victor A. Alegana ◽  
Nabaz R. Khwarahm ◽  
Andrew J. Tatem ◽  
...  

Crop production is a major source of food and livelihood for many people in arid and semi-arid (ASA) regions across the world. However, due to irregular climatic events, ASA regions are affected commonly by frequent droughts that can impact food production. In addition, ASA regions in the Middle East and Africa are often characterised by political instability, which can increase population vulnerability to hunger and ill health. Remote sensing (RS) provides a platform to improve the spatial prediction of crop production and food availability, with the potential to positively impact populations. This paper, firstly, describes some of the important characteristics of agriculture in ASA regions that require monitoring to improve their management. Secondly, it demonstrates how freely available RS data can support decision-making through a cost-effective monitoring system that complements traditional approaches for collecting agricultural data. Thirdly, it illustrates the challenges of employing freely available RS data for mapping and monitoring crop area, crop status and forecasting crop yield in these regions. Finally, existing approaches used in these applications are evaluated, and the challenges associated with their use and possible future improvements are discussed. We demonstrate that agricultural activities can be monitored effectively and both crop area and crop yield can be predicted in advance using RS data. We also discuss the future challenges associated with maintaining food security in ASA regions and explore some recent advances in RS that can be used to monitor cropland and forecast crop production and yield.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-47
Author(s):  
Nataliia Samarets ◽  
Svitlana Nuzhna

Introduction. The active movement of Ukraine towards integration into the world economy, the liberalization of customs regimes, the expansion of sales markets and the introduction of innovations have created new prospects for the progress of the production of exports-oriented agricultural products. Foreign economic activity plays a significant role in the economy of the country, affects its internal dynamics and competitiveness, so the research of trends in the formation of commodity exports are of current importance.  Aim and tasks. The aim of the article is to research the dynamics of progress and the current state of the agricultural sector of the economy of Ukraine in the field of crop production, the contribution to it of the main categories of farms and the role of the agricultural sector in the formation of the exports potential of the country. For the solvation of this problem, a number of statistical materials, scientific publications and Internet resources on the indicators of production activities of agricultural enterprises were used, the methods of mathematical statistics and economic and mathematical modeling were applied. Results. The conducted researches allowed to evaluate the contribution of the main categories of farms to crop production in 2010-2017. To estimate the distribution of land between agricultural enterprises the Lorenz curve was constructed, the Gini coefficient and the Hoover index were calculated. Calculations showed that 81.5% of enterprises had 13.4% of the total land area,  and in order to achieve an equal distribution of land between enterprises, it is necessary to redistribute 68% of the land areas. It has been established that in the agricultural sector of Ukraine there is a polarization in the production of agricultural products – small-scale forms of management dominate in the production of labor-intensive and low-income goods, while products of powerful agricultural enterprises have a high yield and low labor intensity. One of the leading places in crop production is the cultivation of sunflower due to its high profitability. Linear and multiplicative regression models of dependence of the volume of sunflower production. It was determined that high levels in the structure of commodity exports of Ukraine belong to sunflower oil, wheat, corn, barley, rapeseed and soybeans, and it was noted the important role of agricultural holdings in forming the exports potential. Conclusions. Agricultural enterprises, in particular, holdings, which have more opportunities than households for increasing their production through the introduction of innovations and the scale of production play a growing role in the production of agricultural products . Ukraine makes a significant contribution to global food security, but its position in the world markets as a producer and supplier of raw materials is fixed. Exports of goods with a low level of added value largely depend on fluctuations in world prices, which contributes to the sensitivity of the domestic economy to external negative trends, therefore, Ukrainian commodity exports need to diversify and increase the share of high technological value added goods.


1998 ◽  
pp. 124-127
Author(s):  
V. Tolkachenko

One of the most important reasons for such a clearly distressed state of society was the decline of religion as a social force, the external manifestation of which is the weakening of religious institutions. "Religion," Baha'u'llah writes, "is the greatest of all means of establishing order in the world to the universal satisfaction of those who live in it." The weakening of the foundations of religion strengthened the ranks of ignoramuses, gave them impudence and arrogance. "I truly say that everything that belittles the supreme role of religion opens way for the revelry of maliciousness, inevitably leading to anarchy. " In another Tablet, He says: "Religion is a radiant light and an impregnable fortress that ensures the safety and well-being of the peoples of the world, for God-fearing induces man to adhere to the good and to reject all evil." Blink the light of religion, and chaos and distemper will set in, the radiance of justice, justice, tranquility and peace. "


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