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Date Submitted: 11/06/2012 07:42 AM
ScienceDaily (Mar. 23, 2010)— Scientists have reported on the development of the first
two-in-one test that can simultaneously detect both the E. coli bacteria responsible for
terrible food poisoning outbreaks, and the toxins, or poisons, that the bacteria use to
cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and other symptoms in its victims. They described it at
the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), being held in San
Francisco March 21-25.
The bacteria -- a strain called E. coli O157 -- may be present in food for hours or days
before improper storage conditions allow them to grow and produce the toxins that
actually cause food poisoning. Those toxins can remain in food even after the bacteria
are dead and gone. In the past, it took separate tests to protect against this double
threat from the bacteria and the toxins.
“Our test may be used in meat processing plants to allow in-house testing of products
prior to sale," says project leader John Mark Carter, Ph.D. He is with the U.S. Department
of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service in Albany, Calif. "This would reduce the
frequency of foodborne illness, reduce product recalls, and enhance public health while
reducing annual cost for food testing."
Food poisoning caused by E. coli O157 sickens more than 70,000 people each year in the
United States and causes at least 60 deaths. Although outbreaks have involved foods as
diverse as lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, and peanut butter, ground beef remains a major
concern. The bacteria may get into ground beef when meat is contaminated with fecal
material from chickens or cattle during slaughtering or processing. If the meat is not
properly chilled, the bacteria may multiply and produce enough of two main toxins --
called Shiga toxin 1 and Shiga toxin 2 -- to cause illness.
Until now, there was no two-in-one test for the bacteria and the toxins. Separate tests
were required for each threat. Current tests...