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Issues: Food Safety

Preventing Microbial Contamination from Manure

PMA offers the following steps that a grower can take to reduce the risk of microbial contamination from manure use.

Clean Soil

The improper use of manure is a large risk factor contributing to foodborne illness. Pathogens such as E. coli, Salmonella, and Campylobacter can be present in slurry (a thin mixture of liquid) and soil for up to three months, depending on temperature and soil conditions. Listeria may survive on vegetables growing in the soil, even though it may not survive in the soil itself. Yersinia may survive, but not grow, in soil for up to 330 days.

Composting manure, incorporating it prior to planting and avoiding top-dressing, are important steps that can reduce the risk of contamination while making use of this important source for nutrients.

Clean Water

Make sure that water used in overhead irrigation, produce cooling, washing, and processing operations is clean. Where possible, use chlorinated water or groundwater. Surface water close to untreated sewage or a livestock operation should be tested.

Clean Hands

Pay close attention to worker hygiene, not only in the packinghouse, but in the field as well. Provide soap and clean water and single-use towels in the field. Insist that all workers wash their hands before handling fruits and vegetables.

Pre-Plant
  • Store slurry for 60 days in summer or 90 days in winter, prior to field application.
  • Incorporate fresh into the soil.
  • Most pathogens are killed within days by high temperatures during aerobic composting.
  • In fall, apply onto cover crop to minimize erosion/nutrient losses.
  • In spring, apply onto agronomic rotation crop. Incorporate if applied to vegetable or fruit ground.
  • Do not harvest within 60 days of manure application.
  • Avoid root/leafy crops in the year that the manure is applied.
  • Preferably, apply manures to agronomic rotation crop.
  • Perennial crops offer minimal risk with manure incorporation and harvest delay.
Production
  • Drip irrigation minimizes risk because there is no direct crop wetting.
  • Overhead/well water carries minimal risk if well casing is maintained and livestock are excluded from pump areas.
  • With overhead/surface water, consider testing if the water source is downstream from livestock operations or raw sewage.
  • Do not use sidedressing with fresh or slurry manure.
  • Compost sidedressing is acceptable.
  • Do not allow grazing of livestock (including poultry) during season of harvest.
  • Minimize wild animal traffic, where possible.
Source

Excerpted from information provided by Stephen Reiners, Anu Rangarajan, Marvin Pritts, Laura Pedersen, and Anthony Shelton of Cornell University's Department of Horticulture/New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva; Department of Fruit & Vegetable Science, Ithaca; and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County, April 1997.
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