Potential Role of Wildlife in Pathogenic Contamination of Fresh Produce
The safety of fresh produce is an important concern in the United States, especially in the wake of recent national foodborne illness outbreaks. The agricultural industry has implemented steps to enhance food safety along the entire farm-to-fork supply chain. This includes on-farm measures to exclud...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Utah State University
2017-02-01
|
| Series: | Human-Wildlife Interactions |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/hwi/vol7/iss1/14 |
| _version_ | 1819037173012234240 |
|---|---|
| author | Jeff A. Langholz Michele T. Jay-Russell |
| author_facet | Jeff A. Langholz Michele T. Jay-Russell |
| author_sort | Jeff A. Langholz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The safety of fresh produce is an important concern in the United States, especially in the wake of recent national foodborne illness outbreaks. The agricultural industry has implemented steps to enhance food safety along the entire farm-to-fork supply chain. This includes on-farm measures to exclude wildlife and to remove its habitat in and around fields. Farmers and others from across the United States have expressed concern about the ecological consequences and uncertain food safety benefits of such practices. This article reviews the scientific rationale behind management of wildlife and its habitat as part of good agriculture practices for enhancing food safety. The review concludes that, although pathogen prevalence has been documented in wildlife at overall low levels, the potential role that wildlife and its habitat play in pathogenic contamination remains unclear and is interwoven with pathogenic risk from human and domesticated animal sources. The characterization and disruption of potential links between livestock and wildlife is highlighted as a research priority. The findings underscore the importance of appropriate wildlife research and management in the context of food safety and to human–wildlife interactions in general, and they have implications wherever fresh produce is grown in the United States. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T08:17:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b36dba4dba684249bc8df701f9ed01e4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2155-3874 2155-3874 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T08:17:12Z |
| publishDate | 2017-02-01 |
| publisher | Utah State University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Human-Wildlife Interactions |
| spelling | doaj.art-b36dba4dba684249bc8df701f9ed01e42022-12-21T19:10:32ZengUtah State UniversityHuman-Wildlife Interactions2155-38742155-38742017-02-0110.26077/e5gg-r037Potential Role of Wildlife in Pathogenic Contamination of Fresh ProduceJeff A. Langholz0Michele T. Jay-Russell1Monterey Institute of International StudiesUniversity of California, DavisThe safety of fresh produce is an important concern in the United States, especially in the wake of recent national foodborne illness outbreaks. The agricultural industry has implemented steps to enhance food safety along the entire farm-to-fork supply chain. This includes on-farm measures to exclude wildlife and to remove its habitat in and around fields. Farmers and others from across the United States have expressed concern about the ecological consequences and uncertain food safety benefits of such practices. This article reviews the scientific rationale behind management of wildlife and its habitat as part of good agriculture practices for enhancing food safety. The review concludes that, although pathogen prevalence has been documented in wildlife at overall low levels, the potential role that wildlife and its habitat play in pathogenic contamination remains unclear and is interwoven with pathogenic risk from human and domesticated animal sources. The characterization and disruption of potential links between livestock and wildlife is highlighted as a research priority. The findings underscore the importance of appropriate wildlife research and management in the context of food safety and to human–wildlife interactions in general, and they have implications wherever fresh produce is grown in the United States.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/hwi/vol7/iss1/14escherichia coli o157:h7foodborne illnessfood safetyhuman–wildlife conflictswildlife pathogenszoonotic disease |
| spellingShingle | Jeff A. Langholz Michele T. Jay-Russell Potential Role of Wildlife in Pathogenic Contamination of Fresh Produce Human-Wildlife Interactions escherichia coli o157:h7 foodborne illness food safety human–wildlife conflicts wildlife pathogens zoonotic disease |
| title | Potential Role of Wildlife in Pathogenic Contamination of Fresh Produce |
| title_full | Potential Role of Wildlife in Pathogenic Contamination of Fresh Produce |
| title_fullStr | Potential Role of Wildlife in Pathogenic Contamination of Fresh Produce |
| title_full_unstemmed | Potential Role of Wildlife in Pathogenic Contamination of Fresh Produce |
| title_short | Potential Role of Wildlife in Pathogenic Contamination of Fresh Produce |
| title_sort | potential role of wildlife in pathogenic contamination of fresh produce |
| topic | escherichia coli o157:h7 foodborne illness food safety human–wildlife conflicts wildlife pathogens zoonotic disease |
| url | https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/hwi/vol7/iss1/14 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jeffalangholz potentialroleofwildlifeinpathogeniccontaminationoffreshproduce AT micheletjayrussell potentialroleofwildlifeinpathogeniccontaminationoffreshproduce |