E.Coli Bacteria

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...