Controlling antimicrobial-resistant bacteria requires a combined effort that includes better food hygiene and contamination control, according to the authors of a new study.
Published in the September issue of the Journal of Food Protection, the study, “Controlling Foodborne Antimicrobial-Resistant Bacteria: The Gen(i)e is Out of the Bottle,” states that food serves as a major vehicle for transmission of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (AMR), which can contaminate food throughout the farm-to-fork continuum.
“Even in the absence of intentional antibiotic use in food production, food may be exposed to contamination at multiple stages, highlighting the importance of coordinated control across the food chain,” the report states.
The study focuses on two complementary strategies to control the contamination of food with antibiotic-resistant bacteria: targeted antimicrobial stewardship in agrifood systems and “stringent hygiene and contamination control across the food chain to broadly reduce bacterial loads."
The authors state that “application of the general principles of food safety and hygiene is an essential complement to antimicrobial stewardship and can reduce not only exposure to the hazards of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria by a factor of 100 or 1000 but also can limit exposure to foodborne pathogens themselves.”
It also highlights the importance of “workforce training and development for plant and animal health and food safety.”
Speaking to Rootwurks this week, one of the report's authors, Jeffrey LeJeune, said that while it’s well known that food can transmit antimicrobial-resistant organisms, it is unclear what percentage of infections come from food versus from animals and agricultural facilities at the beginning of the production chain.
LeJeune, a Food Safety and Quality Officer at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, described how food contains antimicrobial-resistant organisms which can arrive in the food from “anywhere upstream where the food is produced, processed or packaged.”
He highlighted how, while there is wide awareness of the need to use antibiotics correctly in agriculture, “the other half of the story is that we need to pay attention to food safety and hygiene in the processing facility. Because whatever you do, it can get messed up downstream and whatever is on that last bite represents what you saw upstream.”
He added that even if there is perfect animal health and no use of antimicrobials whatsoever, “antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes are already in the environment. Wildlife transmit them; they're in the drains and the slaughter plant. If you don’t control them, you’re missing a great opportunity to improve not only the control of antimicrobial resistance but also Salmonella, Campylobacter, and more.”
LeJeune argued that the situation requires a two-part solution, and is quite simple.
“There's two parts to the story - Use antibiotics correctly and clean your act up.” It’s not really rocket science, and it doesn't take rocket science to solve the problem - It takes practical common sense and action.”
LeJeune noted that antimicrobial resistance on its own doesn’t cause problems, but the issue is that it doesn't exist in a vacuum.
“To be a problem, it has to spread from the animal to the environment, to the environment to another animal, from the environment to food. So we must control the spread.”
He said that antimicrobial-resistant organisms are in every corner of the Earth - we just need to keep them out of our mouths.
But all of these efforts to stop the spread of such organisms require stringent hygiene and cleanliness during processing and production.
For food manufacturers who don’t have contact with the livestock or agricultural products at the beginning of the production process, basic, core sanitation concepts and techniques need to be trained, improved, and upheld, LeJeune said.
“In machinery, disinfectants don't work if you have a high organic load. You need to clean up first and then disinfect. You need to make sure that your protocols and your personal hygiene are great. It’s all those little tiny steps added up together that make a safer product”
And while all of this is important across the board, it is especially true with organisms that are resistant to antibiotics.
“Obviously, no one wants to be linked to a foodborne disease outbreak. And they especially don't want to be linked to one that's resistant to antibiotics because those can make people sicker, they're harder to treat and have a higher mortality rate,” LeJeune said.
For training to succeed and safety to improve, LeJeune said awareness is key.
“It needs to get on the radar, so that they know it's an issue. And if they know it's an issue. They're more likely to do something.”
He added, “If you think just having a Salmonella outbreak linked to you is bad enough, you really don't want one that's resistant to antibiotics. You can kill two birds with one stone here, and you're not doing anything different; you're just doing it right.”
“You have to have some kind of carrot in there to promote behavioral change,” LeJeune said, arguing that companies can encourage best practices for their employees.
He also highlighted how for companies looking at their bottom line, being seen as a company that does things right and cares about safety helps you stick out from the crowd.
“If you can say we're doing things right for safety, it gives you a little bit of a competitive edge.”