Authors: Talley, J.L.¹; Wayadande, A.C.¹; Wasala, L.P.¹; Gerry, A.C.²; Fletcher, J.¹; DeSilva, U.³; Gilliland, S.E.³

Source: Journal of Food Protection®, Volume 72, Number 7, July 2009 , pp. 1547-1552(6)

Publisher: International Association for Food Protection

Abstract:

The recent outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection associated with contaminated spinach led to an investigation of the role of insects, which frequent fields of leafy greens and neighboring rangeland habitats, in produce contamination. Four leafy greens fields adjacent to cattle-occupied rangeland habitats were sampled using sweep nets and sticky traps. Agromyzid flies, anthomyiid flies, and leafhoppers were caught consistently in both rangeland and leafy greens production fields at all sites. An unexpected number of flies (n = 34) in the Muscidae and Calliphoridae families (known as filth flies because of their development in animal feces) were caught in one leafy greens field. A subset of these filth flies were positive (11 of 18 flies) for E. coli O157:H7 by PCR amplification using primers for the E. coli O157:H7-specific eae gene. Under laboratory conditions, house flies were confined on manure or agar medium containing E. coli O157:H7 tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP) and then tested for their capacity to transfer the microbes to spinach plants. GFP-tagged bacteria were detected on surfaces of 50 to 100% of leaves examined by fluorescence microscopy and in 100% of samples tested by PCR. These results indicate that flies are capable of contaminating leafy greens under experimental conditions and confirm the importance of further investigation of the role of insects in contamination of fresh produce.

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Food and Agricultural Products Center, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA 2: Department of Entomology, University of California-Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, USA 3: Department of Animal Sciences, Food and Agricultural Products Center, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA

Publication date: 2009-07-01

More about this publication?

• IAFP members must first sign in on the right to access full text articles of JFP
  
  First published in 1937, the Journal of Food Protection^®, is a refereed monthly publication. Each issue contains scientific research and authoritative review articles reporting on a variety of topics in food science pertaining to food safety and quality. The Journal is internationally recognized as the leading publication in the field of food microbiology with a readership exceeding 11,000 scientists from 70 countries. The Journal of Food Protection^® is indexed in Index Medicus, Current Contents, BIOSIS, PubMed, Medline, and many others.
  
  Print and online subscriptions are available to Members and Institutional subscribers. Online visitors who are not IAFP Members or journal subscribers will be charged on a pay-per-view basis. Information can be obtained by calling +1 800.369.6337; +1 515.276.3344; fax: +1 515.276.8655, E-mail: info@foodprotection.org or Web site: www.foodprotection.org
• Information for Authors
• Submit a Paper
• Subscribe to this Title
• Membership Information
• Information for Advertisers
• ingentaconnect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites

Related content

• In this: publication
• By this: publisher
• In this Subject: Nutrition & Food
• By this author: Talley, J.L. ;  Wayadande, A.C. ;  Wasala, L.P. ;  Gerry, A.C. ;  Fletcher, J. ;  DeSilva, U. ;  Gilliland, S.E.

Website © Publishing Technology. Article copyright remains with the publisher, society or author(s) as specified within the article.

• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Information for advertisers