{"id":6330,"date":"2023-10-25T23:59:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-25T23:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/?p=6330"},"modified":"2024-07-20T00:03:20","modified_gmt":"2024-07-20T00:03:20","slug":"dry-surface-foodborne-pathogens-under-scrutiny-at-purdue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/2023\/Q4\/dry-surface-foodborne-pathogens-under-scrutiny-at-purdue","title":{"rendered":"Dry-surface foodborne pathogens under scrutiny at Purdue"},"content":{"rendered":"

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. —<\/p> \n

During 2021 and 2022, national news reported on four infants being hospitalized and two dying after consuming infant formula tainted with Cronobacter sakazakii. The reports sparked the prolonged shutdown of a production plant that produced large quantities of the formula, leading to a monthslong nationwide shortage of infant formula.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The incident motivated Purdue University\u2019s Haley Oliver<\/a> to launch a project to improve the safety of low-moisture food-processing facilities. Oliver, a professor of food science<\/a>, will collaborate with Old Dominion University\u2019s Rishi Drolia<\/a> on the project, which will target the C. sakazakii pathogen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a massive-scale food safety challenge that led to a food security challenge,\u201d Oliver said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Millions of infants were affected. Those in low-income households were hit especially hard. The incident magnified global food security issues that had already been aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. At issue are the foodborne pathogens that can form or become embedded under low-moisture conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need to find practical solutions to controlling this organism in production environments that are challenging to clean and sanitize because these are dry products,\u201d Oliver said. Adding water to a dry food-processing environment promotes bacterial growth, harmless and dangerous alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFinding creative cleaning and sanitation solutions is key,\u201d Oliver said. She and Drolia, who received his PhD in molecular and cellular biology at Purdue in 2018, will examine how cronobacter and associated organisms take up residence in a dry-surface biofilm environment. Their research is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture<\/a>\u2019s National Institute of Food and Agriculture<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the organisms attach to the surface in a dry environment, they can pull moisture from their surroundings. As they do so, they may remain in a living but dormant state that can give rise to sporadic contamination events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a predictable thing, but if pieces of biofilm break off into the environment, it can result in contamination events,\u201d Oliver said. The pathogens can also be difficult to detect because they are not consistently growing in the production environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oliver and Drolia will conduct their tests in a laboratory environment in consultation with industry stakeholders. \u201cWe are seeking industry guidance from the production side but also the sanitation-solutions side,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drolia will handle the project\u2019s microscopy imaging technology. Testing sanitizers or disinfectants typically require only one organism. Working with biofilm environments is different, however.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to grow multiple organisms together. Rishi has an amazing microscopy skill set, so he can help us visualize how these organisms exist together in these lab-created biofilms,\u201d Oliver said. \u201cWe know that some of the organisms survive better when pseudomonas is present.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pseudomonas, which can cause infections in humans, may help protect sakazakii pathogens. \u201cWe can find pseudomonas out in the wild. Are other organisms helping these pathogens set up residence or at least survive?\u201d Oliver said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study also will include the listeria pathogen and salmonella.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a long list of food products that don\u2019t support the growth of salmonella that can still be contaminated with it and subsequently cause disease,\u201d Oliver said. \u201cEven if it doesn\u2019t have conditions to grow, it\u2019s not dead. It\u2019s like freezing food. It will stop the growth of organisms, but it doesn\u2019t kill them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers also will assess what genes C. sakazakii exploits to help it survive in dry food products and search for ways to inactivate or kill it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re bringing together multiple bacterial food safety challenges and our knowledge in sanitation and biofilms to work on a solution,\u201d Oliver said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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