Spreading the word on manure food bug link

Wednesday 3 April 2002

New guidance to help farmers eradicate food bugs from manure spread on land used to grow salad, fruit and some vegetable crops is being planned by the Food Standards Agency.

The draft guidance, currently out for consultation, is based on FSA-funded research into the presence and survival of bugs such as E. coli Salmonella and Listeria in farm manure.

Each year around 90 million tonnes of solid and liquid (slurry) farm manures are applied to agricultural land used for conventional and organic farming. Some of it may contain bugs, which could cause food poisoning.

It is particularly important to avoid contaminating crops that are unlikely to be cooked before being eaten - such as salads, fruits and some vegetables’

The planned guidelines, out for consultation until June 14 2002, were drafted by a group, including representatives from agriculture departments and the food and farming industries (including organic farmers).

It points out a range of measures that can help kill bugs that are present in manures and slurries. They include:

• exposure to sunlight and ultra-violet rays
• high temperatures (above 55 degrees Celsius)
• low acid or high alkaline conditions (use of quick lime or slaked lime to raise pH levels)
• the passage of time (though bugs such as E.coli can survive in soil for several months.)

The draft guidance recommends a package of measures before, during and after the growing season including.

• careful selection of site of fields
• lay-off periods between application of manures and slurries before harvest
• not allowing livestock to roam on land where crops will soon be grown or harvested
• recommendations for storing manures and slurries
• accurate record keeping