Evaluation of Grower-Friendly, Science-Based Sampling Approaches for the Detection of Salmonella in Ponds Used for Irrigation of Fresh Produce.

ABSTRACT: The recognition that irrigation water sources contribute to preharvest contamination of produce has led to new regulations on testing microbial water quality. To best identify contamination problems, growers who depend on irrigation ponds need guidance on how and where to collect water samples for testing. In this study, we evaluated several sampling strategies to identify Salmonella and Escherichia coli contamination in five ponds used for irrigation on produce farms in southern Georgia. Both Salmonella and E. coli were detected regularly in all the ponds over the 19-month study period, with overall prevalence and concentrations increasing in late summer and early fall. Of 507 water samples, 217 (42.8%) were positive for Salmonella, with a very low geometric mean (GM) concentration of 0.0

SUBMITTER: Lee D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6201782 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature