Links Between Watering Your Garden & E. coli

We work so hard to ensure our gardens produce a plentiful crop. Usually hoping for enough to feed our family, friends and sometimes extras to process for the winter months when fresh food just seems to taste so good and gives us hope for a new Spring on the horizon. Watering is one of the most crucial parts of gardening, but can come with risks should the proper cautions aren’t taken. Today, we take a look at links between watering your garden and E. coli.

Produce can become contaminated in three ways: from direct contact of contaminated water on the tomato or other food item (surface contamination), absorption of contaminants through the skin of the produce, and absorption into the cellular structure of the produce through the roots, etc. Surface contamination could also occur if produce touches the ground that has been sprayed with contaminated water.

“Laboratory studies using high doses of bacteria suggest that Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 contaminate produce in the field by colonizing plant-root surfaces from infested soil or seeds. Bacteria then spread to all parts of the plant (9).”

In all cases, the level of water contamination will need to be determined to know if the water is safe to use on the plants/produce or not.

If the level of E coli in the water is above the recommended safe levels mentioned above contaminated, the vegetables could potentially be cooked to destroy the contaminants. However, you should be very careful to handle such produce carefully and wash your hands thoroughly after handling them and possibly wear gloves when harvesting and handling such produce.  But it is really better to be safe than sorry and if in doubt, throw the produce out.

If it turns out that produce consumption is allowable, it is always advisable to wash produce (including tomatoes, peppers and all that you mention in your question) before eating them. This should be done with clean water which means the contaminated water would need to be boiled and cooled to within 10 degrees Fahrenheit of produce temperature before washing the produce. This reduces the risk of absorption of contaminants during the washing process. Likewise, thick-skinned produce should also always be washed before eating (if it is deemed fit to consume in this situation). Melons and cantaloupe can be washed, scrubbing well to make sure surfaces are clean. Even though the skin or rind is not eaten, any contaminants left on the outside will enter and contaminate the flesh that is eaten when the fruit is cut. Also wash hands and sanitize surfaces and utensils that touch contaminated produce.

If you are utilizing a city water source that can sometimes become contaminated it is important to follow regulations listed in your boil water advisories when it comes to watering your garden as well. If water has above normal contaminants it is extremely important to contact your local water authority before watering your garden. Often this information is released in the initial report but depending on the time of year some may find that it isn’t important.

During these times many people find themselves buying purified water to take care of their plants because this has been run through the process of making sure it is safe to use.

The FDA speaks about water irrigation systems as well saying that the length of time between watering and harvest allows for dangerous organisms to die off (a max of 4 days) to have a safe harvest.

• Farms could also apply a calculated log reduction during activities such as commercial washing. (A log reduction estimates how many live bacteria will be eliminated by the activity.)
• Re-inspecting the entire affected agricultural water system under the farm’s control and, among other steps, making changes to ensure that their water meets the criteria.

For more safe gardening articles keep an eye on Make Food Safe as we update daily with news and information.