Make Sure Your Veggie Patch is Free From Animal Poo

Do you like growing your own fruit and veggies or did you start a COVID veggie patch?  If you answered yes, then read on about how you need to make sure your veggie patch is free from animal poo and other nasties.

Last week was Australian Food Safety Week.

The Food Safety Information Council (FSIC) released Omnipoll national research on food safety and gardening that shows 4 in 10 Australians (43% of women vs 36 % of men) grow their own vegetables and/or fruit either in their backyard or in community gardens.

Lydia Buchtmann, the FSIC Head of Communications, said that it’s great to grow your own veggies, fruit and herbs as they are fresh, can save money and help our children understand where food comes from.

Food and Veggie Patch Warning

However, the FSIC published the following warning:

We are reminding people to ensure their homegrown produce isn’t contaminated with animal faeces that can make you sick.

You can do this by covering with bird-safe mesh and by keeping cats and dogs out with a high fence. While our research showed that 60% of gardeners said they did protect their gardens from animals, and this rose to 66% of gardeners who were cat owners, there is quite a gap with those who did not.

Cats, in particular, can pass on the infective stage of Toxoplasma parasites through their faeces which can be particularly risky for pregnant women and their unborn babies, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems. Also, make sure to secure and cover children’s sandboxes when they are not in use to deter cats from using them as makeshift litterboxes.

6 Tips to Avoid Foodborne Disease When You Have a Veggie Patch

Locate your veggie patch in a safe spot

Locate your veggie patch and herbs in a convenient spot but choose a site away from potential hazards.

For example, if you have an older building, avoid using soil that scrapings of lead paint could have contaminated from many years ago or soil close to the street where it might have been contaminated by leaded petrol.

A Macquarie University study found about one-fifth of vegetable gardens across Australia are likely to produce food with unsafe lead levels. Preferably grow your veggies in a raised bed with new soil and away from buildings possibly painted with lead paint and septic tanks.

VegeSafe is a community science participation program run by Environmental Science staff at Macquarie University.   It is the only community soil testing service of its kind in Australia!

VegeSafe is committed to providing the community with relevant information about their veggie gardens and backyards to help minimize exposure to environmental contaminants so that gardeners can enjoy homegrown food without being concerned about the quality of the soils. Their motto is “Carry on Gardening“.

Participants receive a formal report with their soil results and are provided with links to information and advice about “what to do next” in the event of soils containing elevated concentrations of metals and metalloids. They accept soil from all Australian states and territories.

Compost safely

Veggies need lots of nutrients but make sure any compost is well composted before use as the heat generated by the composting process not only kills any weed seeds but also helps kill food poisoning bacteria. Prevent easy access to your compost bin by vermin and pests like mice and rats, which can spread disease, and don’t compost meat scraps which can attract vermin. You can also use reputable commercial compost and fertiliser mixes.

On 25 November 2203, the Lane Cove Council will be holding a Compost and Word Farm workshop – more details here.

Use Clean Water

If you want to recycle ‘grey’ water from the washing machine, it will contain microbes, so don’t put it on to the edible parts of fruit, vegetables or herbs growing in the garden. Also, water from the washing up or dishwasher may have too much fat and other solids, which can be bad for plant growth. Only use water you would drink directly on your fruit and vegetables.

Follow instructions on garden chemicals

Minimise the use of garden chemicals like pesticides and herbicides and make sure you follow the directions on the label exactly. Don’t spray other areas of the garden in windy conditions in case the spray drifts onto fruit and vegetables. Some chemicals will have withholding periods you must follow before you harvest any fruit or vegetables that have been sprayed.

Wash your fruit and veg before eating

Whole fruits and vegetables will be contaminated by soil on the surface. Scrubbing and washing them just before eating, under clean running water, will remove loose soil and may remove many bacteria and viruses, as can removal of the skin.  If you are gardening near marshy areas or grazing paddocks, avoid liver fluke by properly cooking vegetables.

Be Careful with Wild Greens, Weeds and Mushrooms

One last tip – Don’t pick wild greens, mushrooms, and weeds in your garden, as it is important to be able to identify the edible ones from the dangerous ones.

Omnipoll Methodology: The research was funded by SA Health and conducted nationally by Omnipoll online over the period August 24-29, 2023, among a sample of 1238 people aged 18 years and over. To reflect the overall population distribution, results were post-weighted to Australian Bureau of Statistics data (Census 2021) on age, sex, area and highest level of schooling completed.