February 22, 2008

DuPont partners with USDA to develop new E. coli test

DuPont and the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are teaming up to find new ways to detect an E. coli strain in beef that, even in low concentrations, can cause severe illness.

The US Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) at Nebraska, and DuPont Qualicon will develop a new test for

E. coli 0157:H7, a pathogen that led to more than 30 million pounds of ground beef being recalled in 2007.

Mohammad Koohmaraie, USMARC director, said that the combined efforts seek to develop scientific information and new technology to solve high priority problems for the US beef, sheep and swine industries.

E. coli O157:H7 is a food borne pathogen associated with eating undercooked, contaminated ground beef. Even in low concentrations, it can cause severe illness, sometimes leading to hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and kidney failure in at-risk populations.

After several years of declining incidence, 2007 saw a resurgence with more than 30 million pounds of ground beef recalled due to possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination.

DuPont's Qualicon BAX(R) system is currently used by food companies and governments around the world to reliably detect pathogens in food, including E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Listeria and more.

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