Dangerous Food Bacteria Here to Stay

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Dangerous Food Bacteria Here to Stay

Wed Feb 20, 1:02 AM ET

By PHILIP BRASHER, AP Farm Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Dangerous bacteria are going to be a problem in

America's food for a long time as new germs arrive in imported products

and microbes already here develop in new forms, scientists say.

In a report for the Institute of Food Technologists, the scientists also

say the increasing use of manure as fertilizer poses the risk of

spreading harmful bacteria to food, either by contaminating irrigation

water or coming into direct contact with crops.

Manure, which harbors bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7 and salmonella,

substitutes for chemical fertilizer on both organic and conventional

crops. In some foreign countries, chicken manure is fed to farm-raised

shrimp.

The report, which is being released Wednesday, also warns against the

overuse of antibiotics in livestock, saying there is " growing body of

evidence " that farm use of antibiotics is causing bacteria to become

resistant to drugs.

" The job of assuring microbiological food safety is unending, " said

Potter, a top epidemiologist for the Food and Drug Administration

who chaired the study by government and university scientists. Consumers

" should take heart, however, because of the progress that has been made. "

The scientists say it will be " practically impossible " to keep hot dogs

and similar precooked meats free of Listeria monocytongenes because the

bacterium is so common in the environment.

The report does not address the issue of whether the government's food

safety agencies should be consolidated. Food regulation is now split

between the Agriculture Department and FDA, which have widely varying

inspection programs and rules.

But the report raises concern about the regulation of imported fruits

and vegetables and the potential for new pathogens getting into the

country. It's happened before: The bacteria, Cyclospora cayetanensis,

came to the United States through imported produce, and rare forms of

salmonella also have been appearing in the country.

" Certainly, you can grow produce that is free of pathogens in developing

countries. It's just a matter of sanitary practices and the quality of

water that is used for irrigation, " said Doyle, a University of

Georgia microbiologist who assisted in the study.

FDA inspects less than 2 percent of imported fruits and vegetables.

Major supermarket chains, worried about new outbreaks of salmonella and

other bacteria, have recently started requiring domestic and foreign

produce suppliers to be inspected by private firms.

The report says better monitoring of foodborne illnesses is needed to

spot trends and identify causes. For example, doctors too often treat

patients for food poisonings without reporting the illnesses to public

health authorities or ordering tests to determine the exact causes.

That lack of reporting means that government agencies and food companies

may not be aware of new pathogens or dangerous products.

Changes in how foods are processed -- such as leaving out salt or

replacing fats with gums -- can lead inadvertently to new safety

problems by making food more hospitable to bacteria, or by causing the

bacteria to evolve into hardier forms.

At one point, yogurt manufacturers started replacing sugar with an

artificial sweetener only to discover that led to the growth of the

bacteria that causes botulism. It turned out that the sugar was removing

water from the yogurt, making it difficult for the bacteria to grow.

Yogurt was reformulated to eliminate the problem.

Food makers also must be careful that their attempts to inhibit bacteria

growth don't backfire. For example, an antimicrobial ingredient or

treatment that doesn't kill the bacteria may cause bugs to develop into

stronger forms.

" There are a lot of complicated factors that result in foodborne

illness, " said , senior director of food safety programs for

the National Food Processors Association. " You can focus in on one

aspect, but things change. You think you are licking them, but something

else pops up.