A Systems Analysis of Irrigation Water Quality in Environmental Assessments Related to Foodborne Outbreaks

Irrigation water quality can affect food safety and health and has been identified as a possible source of pathogens in produce linked to disease outbreaks. Many irrigation wa er sources are subject to contamination from various sources in surrounding watersheds. A systems-based, watershed scale analysis is therefore necessa y to comprehensively identify both sources of contamination and the conditions in the environment that facilitated or created that contamination, termed here ‘environm ntal antecedents’. Three nationwide disease outbreaks linked to produce in the United States (US) are used to illustrate this concept of a watershed scale assessment to investigate potential impacts of irrigation water quality on food safety.