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ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Food and Feed Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #270011

Title: An introduction to on-farm strategies to control foodborne pathogens

Author
item Callaway, Todd
item Edrington, Thomas

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/17/2011
Publication Date: 6/7/2012
Citation: Callaway, T.R., Edrington, T.S. 2012. Introduction. In: Callaway, T.R., Edrington, T.S., editors. On-Farm Strategies to Control Foodborne Pathogens. New York, NY: Nova Science Publishers, Inc. p. 1-4.

Interpretive Summary: Foodborne illnesses affect more than 48 million Americans each year. The economic impact of these foodborne illnesses caused by bacteria associated with food animals ranges from $10 to 40 billion (USD) per year, and effects across the EU are similar in scale. Because of the large drain on the GDP, as well as human health and societal impacts, research and regulations over the past 100 years have focused on improving food safety which has resulted in the U.S. and EU currently having the safest food supply in history. Unfortunately, the very safety of the food supply causes increased notice of the sporadic outbreaks of foodborne illness, receiving intensive media coverage and instilling fear and distrust in the public mind in regards to the safety of their food supply. Many of these pathogens are found in food animals as “normal” gut bacteria. Thus, this book touches upon many of the nutritional, ecological, and microbial measures that have been investigated and proposed for use in food animals to reduce foodborne pathogenic bacteria. This book encapsulates many of the arenas in which the future improvements in food safety and human health will be explored.

Technical Abstract: Foodborne illnesses affect more than 48 million Americans each year. The economic impact of these foodborne illnesses caused by bacteria associated with food animals ranges from $10 to 40 billion (USD) per year, and effects across the EU are similar in scale. Because of the large drain on the GDP, as well as human health and societal impacts, research and regulations over the past 100 years have focused on improving food safety which has resulted in the U.S. and EU currently having the safest food supply in history. In recent years, the role of the microbial ecosystem in both human and animal health has become more prominent. The “microbial organ” is at last getting its due as playing a part in health as well as production parameters. As such, many researchers have approached the issues of preharvest food safety from the perspective of how we can harness the microbial power of competition to reduce foodborne pathogenic bacteria. Thus, this book touches upon many of the nutritional, ecological, and microbial measures that have been investigated and proposed for use in food animals to reduce foodborne pathogenic bacteria. This book encapsulates many of the arenas in which the future improvements in food safety and human health will be explored.