February 2021 - 20

LEAFY VEGETABLES
Study will help ensure food safety of leafy greens
By John Stumbos
University of California, Davis
A new study funded by the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
will help researchers at the University
of California, Davis, and its partners
improve food safety through enhanced
understanding of pathogens in the
environment that may cause foodborne
illness outbreaks.
This initiative is a partnership that
includes the California Department
of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), UC
Davis, Western Center for Food Safety
(WCFS), and agricultural stakeholders
in the Central Coast of California.
(WCFS is made up of UC Davis
scientists in the Department of Food
Science and Technology and School of
Veterinary Medicine.)
" I am excited to be part of this unique
opportunity that leverages the resources
and expertise of FDA scientists with
the extensive produce food safety
experience of UC Davis researchers
and the practical 'boots on the ground'
insights of the California agriculture
industry and the California Department
of Food and Agriculture, " said Linda
J. Harris, a specialist in Cooperative
Extension and chair of the Department
of Food Science and Technology.
The launch of this study follows a
series of E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks
in recent years linked to California's
lettuce production regions, particularly
the most recent three outbreaks in the
fall of 2019, which collectively resulted
in 188 people falling ill.
In response, FDA launched an
investigation, the findings of which are
outlined in a report released in May
2020. The FDA also published a Leafy
Green STEC Action Plan to address
issues associated with leafy green
Shiga toxin-producing E.coli (STEC)
contamination. This new longitudinal
study is included in the action plan,
as well as the continuation of a similar
study being conducted in the Yuma,
Arizona growing region.
A key component of the Leafy Green
STEC Action Plan is the need to address
knowledge gaps in order to advance
prevention. The multiyear study will
examine how pathogens survive, move
through the environment and possibly
contaminate produce, through work
with water quality, food safety, and
agricultural experts from the Western
Center for Food Safety, representatives
Spinach ready for harvest. Photo: University of Calfornia, Davis.
from various agriculture industries, and
members of the leafy greens industry.
Research teams will be collecting
and examining samples from the
environment, including adjacent land,
well and surface waters, soil inputs that
include compost, and dust. The team will
also be collecting animal fecal samples
to assess the potential impact that
domesticated cattle and wildlife may have
on the produce-growing environment.
The California Central Coast region
grows a significant portion of the
nation's leafy greens. The findings
from this study will contribute
new knowledge on how various
environmental factors may influence
bacterial persistence and distribution
in this region, and how those factors
may impact the risk of leafy greens
becoming contaminated. Results from
this collaboration will lead to improved
practices to prevent or mitigate food
safety risks, and ultimately enhance
the safety of leafy greens grown in
California. VGN
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February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2021
