Microbial Food Contaminants
Microbial Food Contaminants
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Contamination from Natural Fertilizers
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Untreated or improperly treated manure or biosolids used as fertilizers or soil nutrient agents, whether in organic or non-organic agriculture, can lead to contamination of products and/or water resources.
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Animal and human faeces known to contain a range of human pathogens.
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Properly treated manure or biosolids are effective and safe fertilizers.
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Pathogenic organisms can survive upto 60 days under compost.
E. coli Contamination
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Virulent strains of E. coli develop in the digestive tract of cattle which is mainly fed with starchy grains.
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Cows mainly fed with hay generate less than one per cent of E. coli found in faeces of grain fed animals.
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Therefore, ruminants (cattle and sheep) are fed with diets with a high proportion of grass, silage and hay.
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Organic farming potentially reduces the risk of E. coli contamination.
Mycotoxins
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Mycotoxins are toxic by-products of certain moulds that can grow on certain food products under suitable conditions.
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Aflotoxins are the most toxic of these compounds and can cause liver cancer at low doses if ingested over a prolonged period of time.
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Organic farming may lead to increased risk of mycotoxic contamination since fungicides are not allowed in Organic Farming.
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Therefore, good agricultural, handling and storage practices are required in organic agriculture to minimise the risk of mould growth and mycotoxins contamination.
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Last modified: Tuesday, 8 November 2011, 10:01 AM