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ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Food and Feed Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #150830
Title: POTENTIAL PREHARVEST INTERVENTION STRATEGIES TO REDUCE FOOD BORNE PATHOGENS IN FOOD ANIMALS

Author
item Callaway, Todd
item Edrington, Thomas
item Anderson, Robin
item Genovese, Kenneth - Ken
item Nisbet, David

Submitted to: Evergreen International Phage Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/24/2003
Publication Date: 7/24/2003
Citation: Callaway, T.R., Edrington, T.S., Anderson, R.C., Genovese, K.J., Nisbet, D.J. 2003. Potential preharvest intervention strategies to reduce food borne pathogens in food animals [abstract]. Evergreen International Phage Meeting. p. 27.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Annually, food borne pathogenic bacteria sicken more than 76 million Americans. Many of these illnesses are caused by consumption of foodstuffs produced from animals. Post harvest intervention strategies effectively reduce bacterial contamination level from the abattoir to the table. However, in spite of these effective strategies, food borne illnesses and food-related deaths still occur far too frequently. Therefore, strategies that expand the continuum of intervention from the abattoir back to the farm have the greatest potential to reduce pathogenic contamination of meats and resultant human illnesses. A broad range of preharvest intervention strategies have been contemplated and are currently under investigation. Potential strategies to be discussed include vaccination, competitive exclusion, substrate-adapted competitive exclusion, the use of probiotics and prebiotics (e.g., fructooligosaccharides). Other strategies such as the exploitation of the physiology of specific pathogens will be described. Additionally, the use of antibiotics to specifically reduce pathogens will be examined, as well as the risks incurred by antibiotic usage. The effects of management strategies (e.g., dietary changes), transportation, and stress on food-borne pathogenic bacterial populations of food animals will also be discussed. The parallel application of one or more of these preharvest strategies has the potential to synergistically reduce the incidence of human food borne illnesses by erecting multiple hurdles against entry of pathogens into the food chain.