Produce Safety in the United States: Epidemiological Trends and Risk Management Utilizing a Novel Screening Method for Shiga-Toxin Producing E. coli and Salmonella in Irrigation Water

Abstract

Despite significantly improved technologies in food science and public health and tremendous efforts being put by governments to ensure food safety, foodborne outbreaks are still abundant worldwide. Produce products have been frequently implicated in foodborne illness outbreaks in recent years due to changes in consumer demands, consumption habits and production practices. A better understanding on epidemiology changes of produce outbreaks is needed to evaluate current risks associated with produce supply chain and to understand safety regulations regarding produce safety. In addition, it is evident that water used in produce production plays an important role in potentially introducing microbial contaminations. Therefore, its risk management is crucial for safety assurance of the produce supply chain. The goal of this thesis research is to analyze the epidemiological trends of produce outbreaks and to improve the risk management of microbial quality of irrigation water. It summarizes the changing epidemiology of produce outbreaks in the United States from 1998-2007, establishes the baseline to further evaluate the potential impact from the recently implemented Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The study also describes the development, optimization, and evaluation of a novel selective medium for sensitive enrichment and screening of Shiga-toxin producing E. coli and Salmonella in irrigation water. The developed enrichment-indicator system meets the increasing demand of method for multi-pathogen enrichment and detection in a single assay format allowing cost effective detection of STEC and Salmonella within 24 hours.