Reduction of Foodborne Pathogens on Cattle During Loading Through Control of Dust Generation

Findings: This study illustrates that during loading, E. coli O157 can be transferred from the soil to the air if dust is not controlled in the load-out area. Subsequently, the hides of the cattle exposed to this dust had an increased amount of E. coli O157 on them after dust exposure. There were no increases in the total number of E. coli present on the hides of cattle when they were loaded through a clean load-out area while the levels of E. coli increased significantly on the hides of cattle loaded in traditional unclean dusty load-out areas. The increase was greater than one log and on specific days the difference was over 2.5 logs. Additionally, we observed that while the floor in the load-out area did contain E. coli in the areas that were cleaned, it was not getting transferred to the air or onto the hides of the cattle that were loaded through the cleaned load-out area. Controlling the dust in a feedyard is an effective pre-harvest intervention in reducing the amount of E. coli O157 that enters the harvest facility.