Recipient Organization
UNIV OF MARYLAND
(N/A)
COLLEGE PARK,MD 20742
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Currently, demand for naturally grown food is increasing significantly, and farmersare trying tomeetthe requirements of organic system which is a bit complex. Complexities of organic farming, including soil fertility, soil microbial diversity, and use of animal manures, are required to manage on pasture/organic farms. Integrated crop-livestock farms (ICLFs), in which farmers grow both crop and livestock, is a typical example. Microbial ecology of ICLFs impacts their product safety through pathogen transfer between animals and crops. Recent reports of pathogen-contaminated products sold in on-farm/farmers markets highlight the need for assessment of the ecological patterns of foodborne pathogens in ICLFs and their transfer routes to crops. Pathogens are commonly transmitted between livestock and crops during soil amendments with composted animal waste, or by workers, equipment, and vectors. In this study, we aim to assess the ecological dynamics of two major bacterial pathogens,Listeria monocytogenes(LM) andCampylobacter jejuni(CJ), particularly their survival and spreading ability, and block their cross-contamination pathways by improving farm practices and post-harvest processing
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
50%
Developmental
0%
Goals / Objectives
The goal of the project is to improve the safety and quality of pasture food products grown in ICLFs by developing and implementing a natural, easy to use and affordable antimicrobial operational production system and/or handling practices. To develop and use knowledge-based food production, harvesting, and handling practices in ICLFs will not only improve profitability for small to mid-sized organic/pasture farmers and post-harvest processors, but will also improve consumer/buyer confidence and reduce the risk of gastrointestinal infections in human from consumption of food products produced in ICLFs.Specific objectives:To achieve the goals of the proposed research project, we will pursue the following objectives:Specific objective-1: Determine the sources, survival, and persistence ability of LM and CJ in the various environmental constituents of ICLFs and products, and their contamination pathways.Specific objective-2: Establish a practical measure to control LM and CJ in post-harvest products grown in ICLFs by developing and using novel environment-friendly and easy to use natural antimicrobial washing/processing aids.Specific objective-3: Educate and train appropriate stakeholders based on the outcomes from objective-1 and objective-2 and evaluate these outreach activities by determining contamination level of the ICLF products at the pre- and post-harvest levels.
Project Methods
A robust collaborative approach will be used with expertise in complimentary areas with microbiology, food safety, and alternative plant-derived antimicrobial intervention at the University of Maryland (UMD) and expertise in soil amendment using safer compost at both UMD and Frostburg State University (FSU), and extension expertise in University of Maryland Extension (UME).Inthe first part of the research, assessment ofthe impact of integrated crop-livestock farm (ICLF) practices on the survival, persistence, and spatial dynamics of Listeria monocytogenus (LM) and Campylobacter jejuni (CJ) in ICLF environment and crop-livestock production in pre- harvest (farm level) will be determined and prevalence of these pathogens in post-harvest (on-farm retail stores and farmers/roadside markets) food products, will also be performed at UMD and FSU. In addition, the determination of microbiome profile of manure, compost and amended soils will be performed by Dr. Biswas, and metagenomics data will be analyzed by Dr. Pradhan, UMD.The second part of the research, i.e., elimination/reduce foodborne pathogens from produce using alternative antimicrobial bioactive components extracted from by-products of berries and citrus will be performed at the UMD. Finally, in the last part of the project, i.e., disseminating outcomes of the project controlling the contamination processes on farm practices and post-harvest processing, will be performed jointly by PD and all Co-PDs at both College Park, MD/Washington DC and Frostburg/Cumberland, MD. The growers, processors and sellers will be invited to participate in various food safety training lecturers/symposiums in the Northeast region to evaluate training outcomes, and how research is informing agricultural management decisions in practice.