Food Protection Trends - January 2011 - (Page 33)

EXECuTIVE SuMMARY the significance of Non-o157 shiga toxinproducing Escherichia coli in food MICHAEL A. GRANT,1 CRAIG HEDbERG,2 ROGER JOHNSON,3 JANET HARRIS,3 CATHERINE M. LOGuE,4 JIANGHONG MENG,5 JOHN N. SOFOS6 and JAMES S. DICkSON7* u.S. Food & Drug Administration, 22201 23rd Dr. SE, bothell, WA 98021-4421, uSA; 2university of Minnesota School of Public Health, Room 1242 Mayo, Delcode 8807, 420 Delaware St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, uSA; 3Public Health Agency of Canada, Laboratory for Foodborne Zoonoses, 110 Stone Road West, Guelph, ON, N1G 3W4, Canada, 4North Dakota State university, Dept. of Vet & Micro Sciences, 1523 Centennial blvd., Fargo, ND 58105, uSA; 5university of Maryland, Dept. Nutrition & Food Science, 0112 Skinner bldg., College Park, MD 20742-7521, uSA; 6Colorado State university, Dept. of Animal Sciences, 1171 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1171, uSA; and 7Iowa State university, Dept. of Animal Science, 215F kildee Hall, Ames, IA 50011-3150, uSA 1 abstraCt Although Escherichia coli O157:H7 has received considerable attention in the united States, other pathogenic E. coli strains are also known to cause foodborne and water borne illnesses. However, since these strains have not received the same level of attention, from either a scientific or a public health point of view, it is important for the food safety community to understand the biology of these bacteria. This manuscript is a review of the current state of knowledge on the taxonomy and pathogenicity of the non-O157 shiga toxin producing E. coli strains (non-O157 STEC), as well as their significance to human health. Of this group, six serovars have been responsible for most of the human disease outbreaks in North America: O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145. The methodology used for detection of these organisms is a key issue and is also discussed in detail. Finally, current knowledge about the prevalence of non-O157 STEC in food, and possible methods of disease control and prevention, are reviewed. INTRODUCTION The species Escherichia coli consists of a large number of serovars, many (if not most) of which are not pathogenic to humans. Those that are pathogenic are generally classified into groups based on the presence of specific virulence factors that impact the type of disease manifestation observed in infected individuals. These major groups of E. coli are referred to as diffuse-adhering (DAEC), enteropathogenic (EPEC), enterotoxigenic (ETEC), enteroinvasive (EIEC), enteroaggregative (EAEC) and enterohemorrhagic (EHEC) (30). The most widely recognized serotype of pathogenic E. coli associated with foods in the united States (u.S.) is the enterohemorrhagic serotype O157:H7 or O157:NM. This serotype belongs to a group of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). Well over 100 different E. coli serotypes in addition to O157 have been classified as STEC (93), and it is this group of bacteria that is the subject of this paper. Among the STEC, E. coli O157:H7 has received the most attention by the scientific and regulatory community because of its association with several large outbreaks of human illness with severe manifestations. As a result of a large outbreak associated with undercooked hamburgers in the Pacific Northwest in the fall of 1992 and spring of 1993, the united States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service (uSDA-FSIS) declared in 1994 that E. coli O157:H7 was an adulterant in ground beef; a similar pronouncement was made in 1999 regarding all non-intact raw beef products (30). In the u.S., twenty-three outbreaks of non-O157 STEC illnesses were reported between 1990 and 2007. The common modes of transmission were food (primarily), followed by person-to-person, lake water, animal contact and unknown sources (36). The main foods “The authors of this article and editors of Food Protection Trends dedicate this article to Mike Grant, who contributed greatly to the successful completion of the project. Mike passed away on 28 August 2010. His active participation and love for food microbiology will be missed.” JANUARY 2011 | FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS 33 http://www.foodprotection.org/files/food-protection-trends/Jan-11-Dickson.pdf

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - January 2011

Food Protection Trends - January 2011
Table of Contents
A Note from the FPT Scientific Editor
Sustaining Members
Reflections of Your President
Commentary from the Executive Director
Consumer Knowledge and Handling of Tree Nuts: Food Safety Implications
Potential Change in Performance-Based Dairy Farm Inspection Frequency Resulting from Increased Reporting Frequency for Bulk Tank Unpasteurized Milk Somatic Cell Count Results
Executive Summary: The Significance of Non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli in Food
Highlights from the China International Food Safety & Quality Conference + Expo 2010
FPT Instructions for Authors
IAFP 2011 Award Nominations
Executive Board Meeting Topics
New Members
What’s Happening in Food Safety
Industry Products
Coming Events
Advertising Index
Journal of Food Protection Table of Contents
Audiovisual Library Order Form
Booklet Order Form
Membership Application
Celebrating 100 Years of IAFP: Pre-1940

Food Protection Trends - January 2011