I have been made aware of a section in the latest newsletter of an aquaponics trainer making some rather interesting statements around the risk of introducing "deadly" E. coli HO157:H7 into aquaponics systems through the introduction of worms.
Like most promotional material, it contains enough reference to some form of correct base statement to make their argument appear compelling, but I have found the way that the section was written distressing in many ways. On one front, we are trying our level best to ensure food safety and hygene in our units and to educate people on the safety of aquaponic production methods. To have someone from within the community write something down the line of "if you dare put worms in your system you run a very real risk of introducing a deadly pathogen into aquaponics" is not conducive to building a fair and realistic impression of aquaponic production methods. Worms in media beds have been in use for many years outside of the design of the group in question, with no reports of any health issues.
The inference made was that (without stating how many worm growers use cattle poo) red wrigglers are likely or potentially all grown in manure from corn fed cattle and this all contains the "man made" (?????!) strain of E. coli that will then most likely survive the transfer from worm to your system where you will contaminate your crops, your family or your customers. If you are extra unlucky, a fly from a pasture containing corn fed cattle poo will also do the trick (then why bash the worms?) if they can make the trip in under 10 seconds.
The article would have had more use if it simply said something down the line of "pick your worm supplier carefully - if you are cautious about E. coli, steer clear of using worm growers that cannot guarantee that their worms were not fed corn-fed cow poo from feedlots." I do not know what the ratio is of worm producers that potentially use this feed method compared to those that do not, but if it is the case that very few follow this practice, this article borders on reckless. Then one can write follow-ups warning people on the next one in a gazilion risk such as a bird-flu contaminated duck landing in your fish tank. As stated before, in theory, the conditions described in the text can potentially occur. Just as, in theory, a monkey can sit down in front of a typewriter, hammer away at it and write something recognisable. Not impossible, but likely?
I wrote a blog a while ago about the responsibility of perceived role models in the industry related to statements made and perceptions created from a "credible" source. This type of statement was exactly what I was talking about. Not worth the negativety and not worth the potential bad press and poor PR for what many aquaponic producers see as a staple - media filled beds with worms in them (is there a reason for this?). As a scientist, I would like to see some concrete evidence related to instances of the scenario described having been observed at worm farms and in aquaponic systems. If no such data exists, is this statement fair and accurate? Why was it made? I do not want to appear to downright rubbish their concerns, but I will appreciate a percentage risk description to back up this claim.
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Catching a fish that is raised in e. coli tainted water isn't usually a big danger since we usually cook fresh water fish before eating it. The real danger with e. coli and aquaponics is that most people don't cook their lettuce before using it to make salads. And there is the rub.
The devil is in the details so to speak.
While fish don't harbor e. coli in their guts, they also won't stop it if you introduce it via other means into your aquaponics systems.
So, if you are going to use worms in your AP system, don't pull them out of the fresh maure pile.
4 months is the safe with holding period for worm castings and I expect the worms themselves to fall into that too. So if you collect worms from a fresh maure pile, wait 4 months before you use worms from that bin in you AP system.
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