COVID-19 (2022 Deadline)
Impact of COVID-related disinfectants in the food processing sector on the downstream impact of antimicrobial resistant pathogens and endocrine disrupting chemicals into wastewater systems
PI: Lise Korsten ('lise.korsten@up.ac.za), University of Pretoria, South Africa
U.S. Partner: Charles Gerba, University of Arizona (funded by United States Department of Agriculture/ National Institute of Food and Agriculture)
Project Dates: November 1, 2022 - March 30, 2024
Project Overview:
 | | USAID and NAS representatives visit Prof. Korsten and her team at the University of Pretoria, May 2023 |
Since its onset, the food-processing sector has been under enormous pressure to ensure that processing facilities and food handlers do not contribute to the spread of the virus. Good hygienic practices that involve washing, rinsing, cleaning, and disinfecting were amongst the areas that received special attention. To date, most disinfectant-related research studies have focused on the efficacy of disinfectants in deactivating pathogens, often without consideration for its downstream impact on the environment and public health.
Quaternary ammonium compounds and chlorine-based disinfectants are used routinely as disinfectants in food production facilities. Due to varying resistance to disinfectants, some antimicrobial resistant bacteria can survive disinfection and release free-living DNA in wastewater treatment plants through the sewer lines of food processing facilities where they are usually not removed. Of additional concern is that residual disinfectants and soaps and their degradation products can end up in the environment through wastewater treatment plants where their endocrine disruptive mechanisms as well as their genotoxic and teratogenic properties to mammals and aquatic organisms raise considerable concern.
The main aim of this research project is to assess the contribution of food safety-control practices and COVID- 19 hygiene measures to the downstream quality of non-sewage wastewater from a food processing facility. The project will monitor the wastewater discharge from a previously sampled processing facility for the release of targeted microorganisms and chemicals. This is paramount, since a fresh-cut vegetable processing facility may provide an ideal setting for the acquisition and dissemination of antimicrobial resistant organisms and endocrine disrupting chemicals. The selected study site will be a food-safety-compliant fresh cut vegetable processing facility where multidrug resistance human pathogenic E. coli will be isolated by the project team.
The proposed project aligns well with the expertise and research interests of the USG-supported partner Prof. Charles Gerba’s research group at The Water and Energy Sustainable Technology Center of University of Arizona. The merging of the research groups to focus expertise on a mutual interest will benefit both countries and contribute to the global challenge of addressing downstream pollution in agriculture and public health.
This project is jointly supported by the South Africa Department of Science and Innovation.
Project updates
During July-September 2023 reporting period, two main events took place:
(1) Sample collection: Three project participants (Drs Willeke de Bruin, Catherina van Zijl and Ms Michelle Adams) visited the experimental site on 5 September 2023 to collect the last samples for this project. The samples are still in the processing stage.
(2) Interactive play: As a result of a partnership with the University of Pretoria’s Drama Department (School of Arts), information about food safety practices in the informal market was presented to factory workers at the sampling site in the form of an interactive play that involved the participation of seven drama students. The 20-minute play that was performed twice on 29 August 2023 was developed by the students themselves (with input from research coordinator Dr Willeke de Bruin). The play addressed topics on food safety practices in the informal food sector. While the factory workers are trained in food safety practices that they should follow in the processing facility, they are not always aware that they can expect the same standard of safe food handling practices from suppliers in the informal market where most of them procure their food.
 |  |  | | Vegetables in line to be processed at the Food processing facility. The PEER team takes water run off samples at this food processing facility which provides data for this study | Wastewater discharge at the food processing fascility | Water discharge sampling points |
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