Marianne Stenrød
Director
Authors
Live Lingaas Nesse Kristin Forfang Jannice Schau Slettemeås Snorre Hagen Marianne Sunde Abdelhameed Elameen Gro Skøien Johannessen Marianne Stenrød Girum Tadesse Tessema Marit Almvik Hans Geir EikenAbstract
The abundance and diversity of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in agricultural landscapes may be important for the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the environment. The aim of this study was to apply screening methods for ARB and ARGs to investigate the impact of farming on the prevalence of AMR in a country with low antibiotic usage. We have analyzed samples (n = 644) from soil and wild terrestrial animals and plants (slugs, snails, mice, shrews, earthworms, and red clover) collected over two years in agricultural fields accompanied by nearby control areas with low human activity. All samples were investigated for the occurrence of 35 different ARGs using high-throughput quantitative PCR (HT-qPCR) on a newly developed DNA array. In addition, samples from the first year (n = 415) were investigated with a culture-based approach combined with whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to identify antimicrobial-resistant E. coli (AREC). ARGs were detected in 59.5% of all samples (2019 + 2020). AREC, which was only investigated in the 2019 samples, was identified in 1.9% of these. Samples collected in the autumn showed more ARGs and AREC than spring samples, and this was more pronounced for organic fields than for conventional fields. Control areas with low human activity showed lower levels of ARGs and a lack of AREC. The use of livestock manure was correlated with a higher level of ARG load than other farming practices. None of the soil samples contained antibiotics, and no association was found between AMR and the levels of metals or pesticides. High qualitative similarity between HT-qPCR and WGS, together with the positive controls to the validation of our 35 ARG assays, show that the microfluid DNA array may be an efficient screening tool on environmental samples. In conclusion, even in a country with a very low consumption of antimicrobials by production animals, our results support the hypothesis of these animals being a source of AREC and ARGs in agricultural environments, primarily through the use of manure.
Authors
Marianne Stenrød Esther Bloem Nana Yaa Boahene Tor Fredrik Holth Tim Hofer Mette Helen Bjørge Müller Elise Rundén-Pran Christian VogelsangAbstract
Vitenskapskomiteen for mat og miljø (VKM) har oppdatert et metodedokument for helse og miljørisikovurderinger av plantevernmidler. Målet med oppdateringen er å gjenspeile gjeldende regelverk og praksis, og sikre kvaliteten på fremtidige risikovurderinger utført av faggruppen for plantevernmidler i VKM. Det forrige metodedokumentet er fra 2012, og oppdateringen var nødvendig for å tilpasse metodene til nytt EU-regelverk for plantevernmidler, og for å innarbeide nye datakrav og retningslinjer for plantevernmidler og biocider. Ved å oppdatere metodedokumentet, ønsket faggruppen å sikre at risikovurderingene de leverer er i tråd med gjeldende regelverket og vitenskapelig kunnskap. Viktige endringer Dokumentet er oppdatert med henvisninger til nye forskrifter og veiledninger, om for eksempel biocider, nye typer plantevernmidler, og forenklet godkjenning/risikovurdering for mikrobielle stoffer. Det nye dokumentet inneholder også veiledning om fareidentifikasjon av stoffer med hormonforstyrrende egenskaper, alternative metoder for å redusere toksikologisk testing hos dyr, og vurdering av ikke-kostholdeksponering av plantevernmidler. Dokumentet inneholder oppdatert informasjon om metodikk knyttet til vurdering av plantevernmidlers egenskaper og skjebne i miljøet, inkludert norske jord- og klimaforhold, renseanlegg og drikkevannsrenseprosesser. Veiledning om risikovurdering for bier og andre insekter, akvatiske organismer, fugler, pattedyr og andre vertebrater, samt meitemark og andre jordlevende organismer, er også oppdatert. Innen flere av feltene er eller vil det bli etablert spesifikke beskyttelsesmål og trinnvise risikovurderinger. Samlet sett fungerer det oppdaterte metodedokumentet som en referanse for VKMs risikovurderingsarbeid for plantevernmidler, og sikrer at fremtidige vurderinger gjennomføres i samsvar med gjeldende regelverk og vitenskapelig kunnskap. Metode VKM har benyttet en semi-systematisk tilnærming, ved å utarbeide et arbeidsdokument for innhenting og sammenstilling av nødvendig informasjon om nye datakrav fra gjeldende regelverk for plantevernmidler og biocider i EU. Dokumentet er godkjent av VKMs faggruppe for plantevernmidler.
Authors
Marianne Stenrød Kathinka Lang Marit Almvik Roger Holten Agnethe Christiansen Xingang Liu Qiu JingAbstract
To ensure compliance with food safety regulations, monitoring programs and reliable analytical methods to detect relevant chemical pollutants in food and the environment are key instruments. Pesticides are an important part of pest management in agriculture to sustain and increase crop yields and control post-harvest decay, while pesticide residues in food may pose a risk to human health. Thus, the levels of pesticide residues in food must be controlled and should align with Maximum Residue Levels regulations to ensure food safety. Food safety monitoring programs and analytical methods for pesticide residues and metabolites are well developed. Future developments to ensure food safety must include the increased awareness and improved regulatory framework to meet the challenges with natural toxins, emerging contaminants, novel biopesticides, and antimicrobial resistance in food and the environment. The reality of a complex mixture of pollutants, natural toxins, and their metabolites potentially occurring in food and the environment implies the necessity to consider combined effects of chemicals in risk assessment. Here, we present challenges, monitoring efforts, and future perspectives for chemical food safety focused on the importance of current developments in high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) technologies to meet the needs in food safety and environmental monitoring.