Foodborne illnesses caused by contaminated vegetables affected more than 3 million people in the United States between 1998 and 2008. A University of Arizona team will identify strategies for farmers to monitor irrigation water quality and reduce sickness caused by E. coli.
Marc Verhougstraete leads a group of public health researchers working to improve agricultural water monitoring. Their research is centered in Yuma where most of the nation’s leafy vegetables are grown in winter.
"The results of this research will not only have a direct impact on the irrigation, farmers and the growers in Yuma, this will have a national impact by keeping our produce safe from E coli and other pathogens," said Verhougstraete.
The federal food safety modernization act signed into law in 2011 shifts the focus from regulators responding to food contamination outbreaks to preventing illness in the first place.
Verhougstraete said the study’s water monitoring recommendations will be available in time for the 2016-17 growing season.