Which Birds Pose the Greatest Food-Safety Risk?
January 5, 2022 Birds that tend to gather in large flocks or forage on the ground near cattle are a higher risk to vegetable crops like lettuce and broccoli than other birds, a new study from the University of California, Davis, shows.
Researchers examined more than 11,000 pathogen test and 1,565 bird surveys (making up 139 species) for the study. The team weighed the importance of 11 traits from birds and their impact on food safety.
- Pathogen Exposure (including habitat associations, movement, and foraging strategy)
- Pace of Life (Clutch size and generation length)
- Mediated Foodborne Pathogen Prevalence
- Proclivities to Enter Farm Fields
“We found that several traits related to pathogen exposure predicted pathogen prevalence,” the authors wrote in the study intro.
The main factor they found? Species associated with cattle feedlots and bird feeders, respectively, carried a higher risk of exposing crops to Campylobacter spp. and Shiga-toxin producing E. coli (STEC). Also, birds that consumed plants and lived longer held a higher likelihood of having Campylobacter spp. Also, species linked to feedlots carried a higher tendency to enter fields and defecate on crops.
“We basically didn’t know which birds were problematic,” said lead author Olivia Smith, a postdoctoral researcher at Michigan State University who was at University of Georgia when the paper was written. “I think this is a good step forward for the field.”
Additional co-authoring institutions include James Cook University, UC Berkeley, UC Riverside, University of Kentucky, University of Texas, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Washington State University, BioEpAr, The Nature Conservancy and Van Andel Institute.
On the plus side, canopy-foraging birds that feed on insects entered fields less often and therefore defecated much less on crops.
“Promoting insectivorous birds may represent a win-win-win for bird conservation, crop production, and food safety,” the authors wrote.
Other Study Notes to Know
- Overall, foodborne risk from birds is lower than once thought.
- The most common disease found? Campylobacter spp. (8.0%). STEC and Salmonella, on the other hand, are rare (0.46% and 0.22% prevalence, respectively)
- Only one foodborne disease outbreak in produce has been conclusively traced to birds: a Campylobacter outbreak in peas from Alaska.
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