E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak Researchers Study Effect of Distiller's Grains
E. coli O157:H7 outbreak researchers in Nebraska are continuing their study of cattle fed a percentage of wet distillers' grains -- an ingredient already known to lead to greater prevalance of E. coli O157:H7 in manure.
The USDA studies at the agency's Clay Center animal research station are important because the wet distillers' grains are being used as a relatively inexpensive feed supplement in the beef cattle "finishing phase" -- the last 120 to 140 days before slaughter. The grains are a byproduct of corn ethanol manufacturing.
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From a food safety perspective, higher levels of E. coli O157:H7 in cattle manure is problematic. It raises the threat that potentially deadly human pathogens will enter the food supply and make people sick with life-threatening hemoloytic uremic syndrome (HUS). National E. coli lawyers at PritzkerOlsen, P.A., represents victims of E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks and are actively following the study results in hopes that more prevention measures can be developed.
In early experiments with 608 steers, the Clay Center researchers showed that the incidence and prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in manure, and the incidence on hides, was significantly higher for cattle whose corn-based feed included 40 percent wet distrillers' grains than those whose feed did not include them In follow-up studies, the researches want to determine what causes the difference in E. coli levels, and what can be done to reduce them.
There's a working hypothesis that the fiber component of hay may scrape thegut wall, physically removing the organism and contributing to reduced colonization of E. coli in the intestinal tract. In general, research supports that cattle on grain-based diets shed higherlevels of generic E. coli in their feces than cattle on a high-forage diet.
