Location: Meat Safety and Quality
Project Number: 3040-42000-018-000-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated
Start Date: May 17, 2016
End Date: Jan 18, 2021
Objective:
Objective 1: Develop and validate novel pre- and post-harvest intervention strategies to reduce or eliminate foodborne pathogen colonization and persistence in the animal and on carcasses and meat products.
Sub-objective 1.A: Identify effective control measures to reduce pathogens and in the pre-harvest environment.
Sub-objective 1.B: Identify and/or improve efficacious non-thermal post-harvest interventions to reduce contamination of processing plant surfaces, hides, carcasses, and meat products.
Sub-objective 1.C: Determine if current processing interventions are equally effective on AMR bacteria and foodborne pathogens.
Objective 2: Develop improved sampling, detection, and tracking technologies to identify points, including biofilms, where pathogens persist and contaminate in the production of red meat.
Sub-objective 2.A: Characterization of bacterial and environmental components contributing to high event periods (HEP) of E. coli O157:H7 contamination at beef processing plants.
Sub-objective 2.B: Identify improved sampling and detections technologies for foodborne pathogens associated with red meat.
Sub-objective 2.C: Develop and evaluate indicator organisms as surrogates for tracking pathogens through beef processing.
Objective 3: Identify environmental and management practices that influence antimicrobial resistance, colonization of lymph nodes, and colonization rates of cattle, veal, and swine.
Sub-objective 3.A: Determine effects of season and production system on occurrence of antimicrobial resistance and foodborne pathogens associated with food animal production.
Sub-objective 3.B: Identify environmental and management practices that influence Salmonella in lymph nodes.
Sub-objective 3.C: Determine the prevalence of STEC and AMR in veal production systems and identify factors contributing to colonization.
Approach:
Cattle and swine can serve as reservoirs of foodborne pathogens that can spread through the environment or to meat during harvest. Further, pharmacologic antimicrobial use in meat animal production is a concern due to the perceived possibility of emergence and transmission of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria to the environment and food supply. Research to develop ways to reduce the levels of foodborne pathogens such as Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and Salmonella on farms and in foods is important, as is understanding and reducing the risk posed to food safety by AMR bacteria present in the meat production system. To this end, the effects of animal vaccines and direct fed microbial feed additives will be investigated to reduce or eliminate foodborne pathogens in the pre-harvest environment. During the harvest process, chlorine dioxide gas, cold atmospheric plasma, and a unique nano-technology sprayer will be assessed to reduce contamination. Novel methods to detect and track pathogens will be designed and tested including examining processing plants for biofilms and determining their roles during times of widespread pathogen contamination. Environmental and animal management practices that influence antimicrobial resistance and colonization of meat animals by pathogens will be studied, with the goal of identifying management practices that influence Salmonella in beef carcass lymph nodes and the prevalence of STEC in veal production. Successful completion of the project objectives will increase the ability of producers and processors to monitor production and use improved interventions to control contamination and product loss, and clarify the risk of antimicrobial resistance in meat production, while providing meat consumers a decreased risk of foodborne illness.
