Research Priorities for Coordinating Management of Food Safety and Water Quality

Efforts to exclude disease organisms from farms growing irrigated lettuce and leafy vegetables on California's central coast are conflicting with traditionally accepted strategies to protect surface water quality. To begin resolving this dilemma, over 100 officials, researchers, and industry re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of environmental quality 2008-07, Vol.37 (4), p.1411-1418
Main Authors: Crohn, D.M, Bianchi, M.L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural practices
animal pathogens
Conflicts
conservation buffers
Crops, Agricultural
Disease control
disease vectors
E coli
Environmental health
Escherichia coli
Farm management
Farms
Food contamination & poisoning
Food Microbiology
Food safety
Food Supply
Gardens & gardening
good agricultural practices
human health
irrigated farming
large farms
lettuce
Marketing
Pathogens
research coordination
Riparian buffers
Safety Management - organization & administration
Shipping industry
Surface water
vegetables
water management
Water quality
Water shortages
Water Supply - standards
wildlife habitats
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Summary:Efforts to exclude disease organisms from farms growing irrigated lettuce and leafy vegetables on California's central coast are conflicting with traditionally accepted strategies to protect surface water quality. To begin resolving this dilemma, over 100 officials, researchers, and industry representatives gathered in April 2007 to set research priorities that could lead to effective co-management of both food safety and water quality. Following the meeting, research priorities were refined and ordered by way of a Delphi process completed by 35 meeting participants. Although water quality and food safety experts conceptualized the issues differently, there were no deep disagreements with respect to research needs. Top priority was given to investigating the fate of pathogens potentially present on farms. Intermediate priorities included characterizing the influence of specific farm management practices on food safety and improving our understanding of vector processes. A scientific subdiscipline focusing on competing risks is needed to characterize and resolve conflicts between human and environmental health.
ISSN:0047-2425
1537-2537
DOI:10.2134/jeq2007.0627