The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched a new study in partnership with Purdue University and members of the produce industry in Indiana to better understand the ecology of human pathogens in the environment of the Southwest Indiana agricultural region. Following multiple salmonella outbreaks linked to this region, this multi-year study will focus on assessing risks related to how salmonella is distributed and survives in the environment in Indiana in order to identify and implement practical and cost effective mitigation strategies.

The FDA will work in partnership with water quality, food safety and agricultural experts from Purdue University and other agricultural stakeholders to form research teams that will collect and examine samples from the environment such as surface waters, soil and dust. The team will also collect scat samples to assess the impact that animal intrusion and native wildlife may have on the growing environment.

The study is being initiated following outbreaks linked to cantaloupe grown in Southwest Indiana where a specific source or route of contamination was not found; but other varieties of salmonella were identified, some which were genetically similar to clinical, environmental, and food isolates collected in relation to the region over the last decade. These findings suggest that salmonella is a reoccurring issue in the region and that multiple reservoirs for Salmonella spp. may exist. The outbreak investigations have shown that that there are complex environmental survival, proliferation and dispersal mechanisms of pathogens in this region that need to be better understood.

This study is intended to help the FDA and the local growing community better understand the source of pathogens, their persistence, and how they transfer through the growing environment to help inform food safety practices.