E.coli, salmonella target ripening fruits
March 26th, 2012 - 11:43 am ICT by IANSLondon, March 26 (IANS) Food poisoning bugs E. coli and salmonella could be especially targeting ripening fruits and vegetables such as melons, jalapenos and serrano peppers, basil, lettuce, horseradish sprouts and tomatoes, says a study.
Researchers from Imperial College, London, are looking at how they latch onto fruits and vegetables and contaminate them.
“Bacteria (salmonella strains) that attach to ripe tomatoes produce an extensive network of filaments, which is not seen when they attach to the surface of unripe tomatoes,” said Gad Frankel, professor at Imperial College, who led the study.
This is just one example of the subtle interplay between food-poisoning microbes and the fresh produce they contaminate, explained Frankel, according to a university statement.
“Apart from salmonella, strains of E. coli are also particularly devious in the way they interact with plant surfaces. They have hair-like appendages and flagella they can use as hooks to successfully secure themselves onto things like salad leaves,” said Frankel.
“By working out the reasons behind sporadic outbreaks of infections, we can control these better and help maintain consumer confidence,” concluded Frankel.
These findings were presented at the Society for General Microbiology’s Spring Conference in Dublin this week.
- How Salmonella bacteria infect salad leaves - Sep 03, 2008
- Salmonella bugs could prevent food poisoning - Apr 13, 2012
- Shock treatment knocks out E. coli bug - Jan 12, 2012
- CDC says that salmonella infection is on the rise - Jun 08, 2011
- Copper effective against new E. coli strains - Jun 03, 2011
- Deadly bugs lurk in raw vegetables - Aug 16, 2011
- Fresh fruits, vegetables triggering food poisoning outbreaks - Feb 14, 2009
- Qatar bans vegetable imports fearing E. coli infection - Jun 05, 2011
- Plasma zaps can decontaminate chicken meat - Feb 05, 2012
- Phone scanner detects if leftover food is safe - Mar 08, 2012
- Beware: Fresh look of vegetables could be due to hazardous chemicals - Jul 26, 2012
- Food poisoning could have lifelong consequences - Mar 21, 2012
- Gene behind tomato's colour, taste decoded - Jun 29, 2012
- Cranberry juice better at fighting bugs - Oct 30, 2011
- Russia to monitor vegetable prices after EU imports ban - Jun 02, 2011
Tags: appendages, bacteria salmonella, consumer confidence, e coli, frankel, fruits and vegetables, general microbiology, imperial college london, jalapenos, london march, plant surfaces, ripe tomatoes, salmonella strains, serrano peppers, sporadic outbreaks, spring conference, study researchers, subtle interplay, target, unripe tomatoes