USDA and DuPont to Detect Foodborne Pathogens

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and DuPont have agreed to jointly work on the detection of hard-to-identify strains of toxin-producing E. coli that are not currently regulated.

The Agriculture Research Service of the USDA will collaborate with DuPont Qualicon to develop a test for non-O157 STEC pathogens in food and expand the diagnostic tools for use in the DuPont BAX(R) System.

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service uses the DuPont BAX(R) System to monitor for the pathogen.

DuPont has developed tests for E. coli O157:H7, the type of shiga toxin-producing E. coli most frequently associated with global food contamination outbreaks.

The US Centers for Disease Control estimates non-O157 STEC bacteria are responsible for 36,000 illnesses, 1,000 hospitalisations and 30 deaths annually.