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Abu Dhabi farmers educated on E coli

Christopher Hirst, CEO of ADFSC said: “After the recent outbreak of E coli bacteria in Germany, we want to make sure that nothing similar happens in Abu Dhabi. With the proper precautions, E coli contamination can easily be prevented,” Hirst said.

Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) is designed to reduce the risks of bacterial contamination and ADFSC wants to guarantee that local farmers are as knowledgeable as possible, he said.

Peter Ensor, acting director of planning and development at the ADFSC stressed the importance of ADFSC’s role to help educate farmers about farm staff food safety and the need to adopt GAP.

Slideshows were presented on how to minimise the risk of E coli contamination at the farm level.

The E coli bacteria is commonly found on the faeces of humans and animals and for the produce to be contaminated it has to come into contact with that bacteria either by touching the faeces directly, by being handled by farm staff who have not properly washed their hands or by coming into contact with water that has been contaminated with the bacteria.

Hirst said that produce should never be allowed to lie on the ground where it can come into contact with uncomposed or untreated animal manure.

He stressed that clean and functioning toilets and facilities to wash hands should be made available to workers in the vicinity of their work. Also it has to be ensured that they wash their hands with clean water and soap after use.

In addition to the workshop, the centre will continue to work with farmers to introduce GAP across farms over the coming months and years through a programme called Primary Farm Assurance.

anwar@khaleejtimes.com

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