Food Protection Trends - September/October 2022 - 362

PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
Food Protection Trends, Vol 42, No. 5, p. 362-376
https://doi.org/10.4315/FPT-21-041
Copyright©
Susan M. Leaman,1* Sonia Salas,2
Robert E. Mandrell,3
2022, International Association for Food Protection
2900 100th Street, Suite 309, Des Moines, IA 50322-3855, USA
2Western Growers, Irvine, CA 92618, USA
3
4
Trevor V. Suslow,4
Michele T. Jay-Russell,4 and De Ann Davis2
1iDecisionSciences, LLC, Bellevue, WA 98009, USA
Agricultural Research Service, Western Regional Research Center,
(Retired from USDA), Albany, CA 94710, USA
University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Environmental Risk Factors in the Human
Pathogen Transmission Pathways between
Animal Operations and Produce Crops
ABSTRACT
Once zoonotic pathogens leave their animal hosts, how
they move through the environment and are deposited
on unharvested produce remains a persistent industry
challenge and research question related to produce safety.
The proximity of animals to production areas, animal
types and densities, an animal operation's management
practices, and weather conditions are some of the areas
explored by researchers to better understand how
pathogens contaminate unharvested crops. Water, inputs,
airborne particulates, wildlife, and insects may serve
as vectors linking pathogens from their animal hosts to
produce production areas. Studies have shown a positive
correlation between rainfall and pathogen concentrations
in agricultural water downstream from animal operations.
Bacteria attached to airborne particulates can be
deposited onto crops or open water sources. Wildlife
and insects share habitat with domesticated animals in
rangelands, pasture settings, pens, and feedlots. Plant
conditions (injuries, disease) and characteristics (surface
topography, genetic traits, age, native microbiota) and
environmental conditions (relative humidity, moisture,
temperature) play a major role in determining pathogen
survival on unharvested produce. This article explores
recent research findings elucidating human pathogen
dispersion and deposition, subsequent transfer from
animals to crops, and the various environmental risk
factors along the way that play a role.
INTRODUCTION
In many regions, specialty crops are grown in proximity to or
at an immediate interface with various types of domesticated
animal operations (105). Specialty crop production (fruits,
vegetables, and nuts) in proximity to domesticated animal
feeding and handling operations raises concerns about human
pathogen transfer to crops. As well-recognized carriers of
human pathogens, animals are one of the primary presumptive
sources for direct or indirect risks to the safety of produce
crops, and numerous studies have established an association
between pathogen presence and proximity to domesticated
animals in feedlots, dairies, pasturelands, etc. (11, 13, 23, 29,
31, 51, 73, 96, 105, 116, 128).
*Author for correspondence: Phone: +1 206.384.4275; Email: susan@idecisionsciences.com
362 Food Protection Trends September/October
https://www.foodprotection.org/files/food-protection-trends/sep-oct-22-leaman.pdf https://www.doi.org/10.4315/FPT-21-041
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