Tracing back multidrug-resistant bacteria in fresh herb production: from chive to source through the irrigation water chain.

ABSTRACT: Environmental antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) can be transferred to humans through foods. Fresh produce in particular is an ideal vector due to frequent raw consumption. A major contamination source of fresh produce is irrigation water. We hypothesized that water quality significantly affects loads of ARB and their diversity on fresh produce despite various other contamination sources present under agricultural practice conditions. Chive irrigated from an open-top reservoir or sterile-filtered water (control) was examined. Heterotrophic plate counts (HPC) and ARB were determined for water and chive with emphasis on Escherichia coli and Enterococcus spp. High HPC of freshly planted chive decreased over time and were significantly lower on control- vs. reservoir-irrigated chive at harves

SUBMITTER: Gekenidis MT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6138756 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature