Animal fertilizers can contain pathogens that cause foodborne diseases in humans. Pathogens from animal waste, including E. coli, Salmonella, and Campylobacter, can spread to the environment, particularly through the application of raw manure to fields. These pathogens infect over 70,000 people in the US each year. Universities are researching how to eliminate foodborne pathogens from animal manure to prevent their spread while still utilizing the nutrients in organic fertilizers. Treatment methods like composting, heating, or chemicals are needed to kill microorganisms before using animal fertilizers to prevent transmission of diseases to humans through the food supply.

1. Animal fertilizers and
foodborne diseases
fettouch malika
Master 1 student in nutrition and pathology
Introduction :
• Animals, fish, and birds all provide organic fertilizers that can help plants grow. Animal-based fertilizers contain
nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium ¯ the primary nutrients plants need to grow.
• Biofertilizers are the substance that contains microorganism’s living or latent cells. Biofertilizers increase the
nutrients of host plants when applied to their seeds, plant surface or soil by colonizing the rhizosphere of the
plant. Biofertilizers are more cost-effective as compared to chemical fertilizers.
• A chemical fertilizer is defined as any inorganic material of wholly or partially synthetic origin that is added to the
soil to sustain plant growth. Many artificial fertilizers contain acids, such as sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid,
which tend to increase the acidity of the soil, reduce the soil's beneficial organism population and interfere with
plant growth.
Abstract :
Some people may think that animal fertilizers are the ideal choice in agriculture and that they give natural
food to humans unlike chemical fertilizers
But the truth is just the opposite. Animal fertilizers used directly in agriculture may be a formal cause of
transmission of infectious diseases through food
How is that ? We will summarize the answer in some lines below .
• The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency has cited pathogenic bacteria as
a leading cause of water quality
impairment in streams, rivers, and
estuaries. There are more than 150
organisms that can spread infection from
animals to humans. Many of those can
be found in animal feces and urine. They
include bacteria—such as E. coli,
Salmonella, and Campylobacter—
viruses, and protozoa. The U.S. Centers
for Disease Control (CDC) estimates
there are more than
• 70,000 cases of infection in humans each
year from E. coli alone. Food-borne
illnesses are considered the most serious
food safety problem in the U.S. The
application of raw manure is one way
pathogens are spread in the
environment
• Development of spore-forming
thermophilic fungi and Actinomycetes in
composting processes, where the spores
can cause diseases in both immune-
competent and immune-compromised
individuals upon inhalation. An example
of such an organism is Aspergillus
fumigatus.
State universities are involved in a 4-
year project, working together to try
and prevent dangerous food-borne
pathogens in animal manure from
spreading to the environment and
negatively affecting human health. They
are attempting to evaluate every food-
borne pathogen in manure to see if
there is a risk associated with human
health. Their goal is to find the most
economical method of handling animal
waste which will result in the
elimination of food borne pathogens
found in manure.
Boulter et al. reported that Salmonella
sp. was observed among several other
Gram negative bacterial potential
pathogens in green compost for organic
fertilizer. Even some Gram positive
bacteria may occur, for example Bacillus
cereus which is associated mainly with
food poisoning and as a cause of serious
and potentially fatal non-
gastrointestinal-tract infections
Therefore, we should focus on
foodborne diseases from animal
manure after harvest
In order to understand the
mechanism of transmission of the
disease
And obtaining solutions and
treatments applied to animal
fertilizers
Because of the important
components animal compost holds
in relation to the plant, it cannot be
replaced, but must be treated before
using. The microorganisms present
in the compost must be eliminated
by heat or synthetics.
In the future, we may see facilities
and experts in the field working on
the treatment and analysis of
organic fertilizer before using it
Also, bio-compost is currently an
incomplete solution like
Plogin : Biofertilizer containing
blue-green algae that is able to
stabilize nitrogen in its bodies by
converting into nitrogenous
compounds from which the plant
can benefit