Pathogenic bacteria on raw vegetables

While we mainly think of salmonella in chicken when it comes to food safety, raw vegetables and fruit can also contain dangerous bacteria. Researcher Leo van Overbeek is therefore mapping out how pathogens get a hold on our crops, so that growers can try to prevent this. “In agriculture, all kinds of things that are unknown are still happening.”

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“We are eating more and more fresh fruit and vegetables. I see cucumbers, peppers and even raw cauliflower at parties. ” Microbiologist, researcher and project leader Leo van Overbeek likes to eat it all, but also warns immediately. He is researching how bacteria get onto plants that make humans sick (such as the EHEC, short for enterohemorrhagic E. coli). These pathogens die when cooked, but if we eat the plants raw, there is a risk of food infection.

Traveling on plants does not appear to be very difficult for pathogens, explains Van Overbeek. They occur, for example, in natural manure, such as cow poo. If you fertilize a head of lettuce with this, bacteria (including the human pathogen) are attracted by the substances released by the roots. They can also splash towards the leaves when it rains. In addition, EHECs and other pathogens can end up on the plant by watering with ditch water that contains bird droppings – and thus the bacteria.

Major damage

To show that the consequences can be disastrous, the researcher refers to 2011. “There was a major outbreak of the EHEC bacterium in Hamburg. Many people have died because of this. But we often forget that the economic impact is also enormous. The borders were closed for food. ” There was no other way, explains Van Overbeek, because no one knew what caused the diseases. Eventually, a contamination of fenugreek, a herbaceous crop that is mainly used for decoration on plates in restaurants, turned out to be fatal.

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