Ambition

To establish a pan-European network of excellence among research groups on the impact of plant microbiomes on human health with broad support from industry and regulatory authorities.

Motive for the action

Contamination of plants meant for human consumption is of increased concern for food-safety and human health. Many different disease outbreaks resulting from consumption of fresh fruits and veg-etables demonstrated the possibility of occurrence of human pathogenic micro-organisms (HPMO) in plant derived products. It is clear that particular HPMO can find their ecological niches in agriculture production systems (APS). Contamination routes of human pathogenic micro-organisms to plants are poorly understood. Basic resources for agro-production, such as soils, water and fertilizers can play a role in contamination of plants, but micro-organisms taxonomically closely related with human path-ogenic micro-organisms are also present in plant microbiomes. Human pathogenic micro-organisms must be considered as integral components of the plant microbiome and it is the intention of HUPLANTcontrol to investigate the potential negative aspects of plant microbiomes on human health and to integrate novel scientific insight into sanitary measures and agricultural management practices.

Project