PathOrganic
Background
A continous rise in the number of outbreaks of human diseases associated with the consumption of vegetables has been observed during the last few decades. The food safety issue seems to apply particularly to organic production systems, where the use of animal manure for fertilization constitutes an elevated risk of contamination of fresh produce with human pathogens. On the other hand, organic versus conventional soils may be more supressive against introduced pathogens due to higher microbial diversity. Given the ever increasing popularity of cut and pre-packaged plant produce with consumers, in which disease-causing bacteria are more likely to multiply, a further rise in fresh produce-related incidents can be expected. From a European perspective, the prevalence of food-borne pathogens on vegetables and their involvement in outbreaks are not well documented, and safety guidelines defining measures to be taken and criteria to be obtained for minimizing contamination are still missing.
