The Persistence of Bacterial Pathogens in Surface Water and Its Impact on Global Food Safety
Rebecca L. Bell,
Julie A. Kase,
Lisa M. Harrison,
Kannan V. Balan,
Uma Babu,
Yi Chen,
Dumitru Macarisin,
Hee Jin Kwon,
Jie Zheng,
Eric L. Stevens,
Jianghong Meng,
Eric W. Brown
Affiliations
Rebecca L. Bell
Office of Regulatory Science, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Julie A. Kase
Office of Regulatory Science, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Lisa M. Harrison
Office of Applied Research and Safety Assessment, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, Laurel, MD 20708, USA
Kannan V. Balan
Office of Applied Research and Safety Assessment, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, Laurel, MD 20708, USA
Uma Babu
Office of Applied Research and Safety Assessment, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, Laurel, MD 20708, USA
Yi Chen
Office of Regulatory Science, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Dumitru Macarisin
Office of Regulatory Science, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Hee Jin Kwon
Office of Regulatory Science, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Jie Zheng
Office of Regulatory Science, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Eric L. Stevens
Office of the Center Director, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Jianghong Meng
Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Center for Food Safety and Security Systems, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Eric W. Brown
Office of Regulatory Science, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Water is vital to agriculture. It is essential that the water used for the production of fresh produce commodities be safe. Microbial pathogens are able to survive for extended periods of time in water. It is critical to understand their biology and ecology in this ecosystem in order to develop better mitigation strategies for farmers who grow these food crops. In this review the prevalence, persistence and ecology of four major foodborne pathogens, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Salmonella, Campylobacter and closely related Arcobacter, and Listeria monocytogenes, in water are discussed. These pathogens have been linked to fresh produce outbreaks, some with devastating consequences, where, in a few cases, the contamination event has been traced to water used for crop production or post-harvest activities. In addition, antimicrobial resistance, methods improvements, including the role of genomics in aiding in the understanding of these pathogens, are discussed. Finally, global initiatives to improve our knowledge base of these pathogens around the world are touched upon.
