August 25, 2010

UK to revise E. coli preventive measures on cattle

UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) is to review strategies designed to reduce the shedding of E. coli 0157 by ruminant livestock.

In partnership with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the food safety watch dog plans to commission an evidence review of the efficacy of control measures designed to prevent E. coli 0157.

The review will also study barriers to the implementation of effective control strategies by farmers, including legal, social and economic barriers.

Included in the research requirements is a request to "consider the feasibility of vaccine control on open farms."

E. coli O157 is shed (excreted) in the faeces of ruminant animals such as cattle and sheep, and there have been outbreaks of human disease in the UK via the cross-contamination of foods and direct contact with faeces or affected animals, the FSA said.

The review considers the feasibility of identifying supershedder cattle as a means of reducing the likelihood of spreading E. coli O157 to other cattle. Supershedder cattle are animals which shed high numbers of organisms.

Routine testing of livestock may not be a cost-effective or practical means of preventing supershedders livestock entering the slaughterhouse. But it may be possible to cut shedding in the whole herd prior to slaughter, the report said.

Although scientists have studied feeding regimes, farm management and biosecurity practices designed to protect against colonisation of animals and limit shedding, specific strategies for controlling E. coli O157 have not been implemented.

FSA expects the review to be completed by June 2011.