The quantity of seafood imported and produced by domestic aquaculture farming has increased. Recently, it has been reported that multidrug-resistant (MDR) Typhimurium may be associated with seafood. However, information is limited to the antimicrobial resistance, virulence properties, and genetic diversity of recovered from imported and domestic seafood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnteric bacterial pathogen levels can influence the suitability of irrigation water sources for fruits and vegetables. We hypothesize that stable spatial patterns of Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes levels may exist across surface water sources in the Mid-Atlantic U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFis a Gram-negative, rod-shaped, facultative anaerobic, and non-spore-forming bacterium that belongs to the family of Enterobacteriaceae and is the causative agent for typhoid/paratyphoid fever and salmonellosis. causes the highest amount of foodborne illness among bacteria at 15.5 cases per 100,000 and causes an estimated 410,000 antibiotic-resistant infections each year in the U.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReduced availability of agricultural water has spurred increased interest in using recycled irrigation water for U.S. food crop production.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIrrigation water sources have been shown to harbor foodborne pathogens and could contribute to the outbreak of foodborne illness related to consumption of contaminated produce. Determining the probability of and the degree to which these irrigation water sources contain these pathogens is paramount. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes in alternative irrigation water sources.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUrea-nitrogen (N) is commonly applied to crop fields, yet it is not routinely monitored despite its association with reduced water quality and its ability to increase toxicity of certain phytoplankton species. The purpose of this work was to characterize temporal fluctuations in urea-N concentrations and associated environmental conditions to infer sources of urea-N in agricultural drainage ditches. Physicochemical properties and N forms in ditch waters were measured weekly during the growing seasons of 2015-2018.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAgricultural drainage ditches represent a major source of nutrient pollution. Shifts in nitrogen source and use of animal manures have changed the bacterial composition both in species of bacteria and their abundance in agricultural ditches. This change affects how nitrogen is being cycled and potentially the final forms of available nutrients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAgricultural water withdrawals account for the largest proportion of global freshwater use. Increasing municipal water demands and droughts are straining agricultural water supplies. Therefore, alternative solutions to agricultural water crises are urgently needed, including the use of nontraditional water sources such as advanced treated wastewater or reclaimed water, brackish water, return flows, and effluent from produce processing facilities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe quality of irrigation water used to cultivate produce that is consumed raw is an important issue with regard to food safety. In this study, the microbiological quality of potential irrigation water sources in Arizona was evaluated by testing for the presence of indicator and pathogenic bacteria. Reclaimed water samples were collected from two wastewater treatment plants and return flow samples were collected from two drainage canals and one return flow pond.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUrea-N is linked to harmful algal blooms in lakes and estuaries, and urea-N-based fertilizers have been implicated as a source. However, the export of urea-N-based fertilizers appears unlikely, as high concentrations of urea-N are most commonly found in surface waters outside periods of fertilization. To evaluate possible autochthonous production of urea-N, we monitored urea-N released from drainage ditch sediments using mesocosms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study's goal was to ascertain the effectiveness of a commercially available Salmonella bacteriophage during ground chicken production focusing on: water source, different Salmonella serovars, and time. Salmonella-free boneless, skinless chicken meat was inoculated with 4.0 Log CFU/cm2 of either a cocktail of 3 Salmonella isolates derived from ground chicken (GC) or a cocktail of 3 Salmonella strains not isolated from ground chicken (non-GC).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSalmonella enterica associated with consumption of cucumbers ( Cucumis sativus ) has led to foodborne outbreaks in the United States. Whole and fresh-cut cucumbers are susceptible to S. enterica contamination during growing, harvesting, and postharvest handling.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnimal manure provides benefits to agriculture but may contain pathogens that contaminate ready-to-eat produce. U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudies of harmful algal blooms and associated urea concentrations in the Chesapeake Bay and in coastal areas around the globe strongly suggest that elevated urea concentrations are associated with harmful algal blooms. The observed increased frequency and toxicity of these blooms in recent decades has been correlated with increased agricultural use of N inputs and increased use of urea as a preferred form of commercial N. This rainfall simulation study sought to assess the potential for different N fertilizers and manures to contribute to urea in runoff from a Coastal Plain soil on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to investigate the microbiological quality of six types of fresh produce obtained from three retail stores located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, USA. A total of 414 samples representing basil, cilantro, lettuce, scallion, spinach, and parsley were analyzed for total aerobic bacteria (APC), total coliforms, Escherichia coli, and three pathogenic bacteria (E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella), using standard methods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSalmonella and Campylobacter are major causes of foodborne related illness and are traditionally associated with consuming undercooked poultry and/or consuming products that have been cross contaminated with raw poultry. Many of the isolated Salmonella and Campylobacter that can cause disease have displayed antimicrobial resistance phenotypes. Although poultry producers have reduced on-the-farm overuse of antimicrobials, antimicrobial resistant Salmonella and Campylobacter strains still persist.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHerbaceous bioenergy crops, including sorghum, switchgrass, and miscanthus, were evaluated for their potential as phytoremediators for the uptake of phosphorus in the Delmarva Peninsula and their subsequent conversion to biofuel intermediates (bio-oil) by fast pyrolysis using pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy. Four cultivars of sorghum, five cultivars of switchgrass and one miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus) were grown in soils with two different levels of poultry manure (PM) applications. Little variation was seen in phosphorus uptake in the two different soils indicating that the levels of available phosphorus in the soil already saturated the uptake ability of the plants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRainfall is a driving force for the transport of environmental contaminants from agricultural soils to surficial water bodies via surface runoff. The objective of this study was to characterize the effects of antecedent soil moisture content on the fate and transport of surface applied commercial urea, a common form of nitrogen (N) fertilizer, following a rainfall event that occurs within 24 hr after fertilizer application. Although urea is assumed to be readily hydrolyzed to ammonium and therefore not often available for transport, recent studies suggest that urea can be transported from agricultural soils to coastal waters where it is implicated in harmful algal blooms.
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