Ozone gas may
be E. coli kryptonite
DIGESTING
RESEARCH ON LEAFY GREENS
By Tracie Cone
Associated Press
Article
Launched: 09/11/2008 06:34:53 PM PDT
Source of Article: http://www.mercurynews.com/food/ci_10440799
Research on E. coli transmission released Thursday said ozone gas is faster
and more effective than chlorinated water at sanitizing leafy greens.
Scientists said it could be pumped into cooling vacuums where lettuce is stored
after arriving from the fields.
"This is great, it's really simple to do," said Steve Scaroni, a grower and shipper who works in
Scaroni was among 300 food industry executives,
growers and regulators who gathered in Monterey to learn the results of the $2
million research, funded by Fresh Express, in response to the 2006 E. coli
outbreak in spinach that killed three people, sickened 200 others and cost the
leafy greens industry about $80 million.
Fresh Express was not linked to the 2006 spinach recall but funded the
studies to help the industry avoid another outbreak.
Among the research findings:
Contamination can spread during washing, cutting and the tumble drying
of greens, and chlorinated water alone isn't enough to kill the pathogens.
Some
varieties of spinach with textured leaves have greater potential for harboring
pathogens than smooth-leaf varieties.
E.
coli can paralyze pore closures on spinach leaves and allow bacteria into the
plant.
Even
cooked compost used in organic operations can retain traces of live E. coli
cells that can reconstitute under the right conditions.
Spinach
and lettuce harvested on hotter days are more likely to create an environment
for pathogen growth.
"I think one of the most
important things these studies have shown is that temperature control is a key
issue," said Linda Harris of the University of California-Davis. "Lower temperatures reduce the statistical probability"
that harmful pathogens will develop.
The research is just the beginning in the industry's effort to determine how
E. coli is transmitted and how it reproduces in processed foods.
The exact source of the 2006 contamination was never discovered, but
scientists suspect that cattle, feral pigs or other wildlife may have spread
the E. coli by defecating near crops.
Researchers on Thursday said they're conducting experiments to find out if
contamination also can be spread by flies or other insects.
"Leafhoppers and aphids did excrete bacteria in their fecal
droplets," said Jacqueline Fletcher of
Last year, growers, packers and shippers adopted new standards for farms,
including a requirement that farmers establish buffers between their fields and
grazing land.
It's unknown if any of the recommendations presented Thursday, including
using ozone gas to sanitize crops, will be adopted.
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