NUS food scientists have discovered that the six major strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli) that cause foodborne illnesses have different metabolisms and tolerance towards acidic conditions.
Pathogenic E. coli are responsible for a number of foodborne disease outbreaks. Among the hundreds of E. coli serogroups (strains), pathogen E. coli O157:H7 is the most widely recognised due to the severity of the foodborne illnesses it causes. Apart from E. coli O157, there are another six serogroups that are identified by the United States Food and Drug Administration as emerging pathogens commonly found in foodborne disease outbreaks. These are known as the “big six.” As part of food safety, it is important to be able to characterise these pathogens and understand their behaviour so that proper measures can be developed to keep them at bay.
FoodWorld 