FDA partners with Arizona leafy greens stakeholders to enhance food safety
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched a new initiative with support from the Arizona Department of Agriculture (AZDA), and in conjunction with the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, the Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District (WMIDD), and members of the Yuma, Arizona area leafy greens industry to better understand the ecology of human pathogens in the environment in the Yuma agricultural region.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched a new initiative with support from the Arizona Department of Agriculture (AZDA), and in conjunction with the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, the Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District (WMIDD), and members of the Yuma, Arizona area leafy greens industry to better understand the ecology of human pathogens in the environment in the Yuma agricultural region. This initiative will be a multi-year study that will focus on how these pathogens survive, move, and possibly contaminate produce prior to harvest.
The launch of this initiative follows the largest E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in the United States since 2006. The outbreak, which was linked to romaine lettuce grown in the Yuma region, began in the spring of 2018 and resulted in 210 reported illnesses from 36 states, 96 hospitalizations, 27 cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), and five deaths. In response, the FDA led an Environmental Assessment (EA) of the Yuma produce growing region in collaboration with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the AZDA, WMIDD, and state partners from June through August 2018.
While the EA was useful in narrowing the scope of the outbreak, many questions remain unanswered regarding the specific origin of the pathogen, the environmental distribution, and potential reservoirs for the outbreak strain. The findings made clear that further collaboration among leafy greens stakeholders and the FDA is needed to better understand potential sources of microbial contamination, the prevalence and persistence of human pathogens in the ecosystem near growing areas, and the best management practices to prevent future outbreaks from occurring.
Throughout this initiative, the FDA will work in partnership with water quality, food safety, and agricultural experts from the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, representatives from the WMIDD, and members of the Yuma area leafy greens industry. Research teams will be collecting and examining samples from the environment such as surface waters, canal sediment, and dust. The team will also be collecting scat samples to assess the impact that animal intrusion and native wildlife may have on the growing environment.
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