In their research on water and pathogen movement in agricultural production areas, Yakov Pachepsky and his team are testing drones for sampling irrigation ponds for E. coli bacteria.
This could give farmers a new tool to avoid spraying potentially harmful bacteria on crops. Watch the video on Tellus: USDA Monitoring Water Quality Using Drones (2:04)
Moon Kim and the sensing technologies team are developing spectral imaging technologies for food safety inspection applications including contamination detection on fresh produce, food ingredient authentication, and sanitation inspection.
Read more in Agricultural Research Magazine: Machine’s Eye View of Poultry and Produce
Scientists conduct a rainfall-simulation test to measure bacteria levels in agricultural runoff water.
Read more in Agricultural Research Magazine: Cleaning Up Runoff: Making Manure-borne Pathogens Stay Put
In a study to investigate whether E. coli can be internalized by spinach plants through their roots, Manan Sharma and his team prepared fluorescent E. coli cells for tracking the bacteria from field to harvest, for soil-grown and hydroponically grown spinach.
Read more in Agricultural Research Magazine: ARS Scientists Study the Ins and Outs of E. coli Contamination
In a study to determine how long bacteria remain viable in a high-tunnel production system, Pat Millner and her team harvested spinach leaves from plants that had been inoculated with a harmless strain of bacteria.
Read more in Agricultural Research Magazine: Organic vs. Conventional Production, Measuring Microbes on Fresh Produce
EMFSL research projects are part of
ARS National Program 108: Food Safety.
EMFSL scientists are working to better understand where pathogens come from and how they survive and move through farms and processing plants to food products, and to develop ways to reduce, detect, and treat contamination problems that can cause foodborne illnesses.
Environmental Fate and Transport of Pathogens
• Tellus: ARS Monitoring Water Quality Using Drones (video)
• EFT Download Code
Sensing Technologies for Food Safety
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