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Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 3/22/2013 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Animal manures are a key to food safety. There are many different kinds of microbes that naturally live in manure – including bacteria that can cause foodborne illness, but also bacteria that are harmless, or even helpful. Manure is how the bacteria from an animals’ intestine first interact with the rest of the agroecosystem and food processing chain. It is a likely point of monitoring, and a likely point of control and remediation, both for foodborne pathogens, and for antibiotic resistant bacteria and their genes. In order to develop strategic long-term control measures that work, we need to understand how the bad bacteria interact will all of the other bacteria in both the animal and the environment. Our studies show that, microbiologically, the feedlot surface is more than “just manure”. Pathogens face a different set of selection pressures in the feedlot, or when manure is used as fertilizer, compared to their life inside the animal. When you are fighting an enemy, it makes sense to attack where the enemy is weakest. For the bad E. coli, our research is showing that that is in the environment. Technical Abstract: For many years, the focus on pre-harvest food safety, especially of foodborne pathogens, was on the animal – what can we do the animal or feed the animal to reduce or control the pathogen? These approaches have met with only limited success. Now, instead of focusing on the animal, we are focusing on the manure, and how the manure-borne microbes interact with all elements in the system. Manure is how the intestinal bacteria from animals first interact with the rest of the agroecosystem and food processing chain. It is a likely point of monitoring, and a likely point of control and remediation, both for foodborne pathogens, and for antibiotic resistant bacteria and their genes. In order to develop strategic long-term control measures that work, we need to understand how the bad bacteria interact will all of the other bacteria in both the animal and the environment. Our studies show that, microbiologically, the feedlot surface is more than “just manure”. Pathogens face a different set of selection pressures in the feedlot, or when manure is used as fertilizer, compared to their life inside the animal. When you are fighting an enemy, it makes sense to attack where the enemy is weakest. For the bad E. coli, our research is showing that that is in the environment. |
