Harmless Bacteria as a Natural Weapon Against Disease Causing Bacteria

Antibiotic and chemical resistance of certain bacteria are already debilitating and killing people, in ever-increasing numbers. What is the future of novel antimicrobial compounds? We have heard about the natural- born killers of bacteria…their phages. Now we have some bacteria that could be hired to do the same job!

Washington post reported an interesting story today on the use of natural weapons against disease causing bactereia. Eric Brown, a microbiologist at the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and a team of FDA scientists trying to prevent salmonella contamination in tomatoes have stumbled upon what they believe are powerful, naturally occurring "good" bacteria that can slaughter the "bad" bacteria that have become a persistent problem in fresh fruits and vegetables because they harm humans. It's a variation on the "enemy of my enemy" philosophy, with scientists like Brown cultivating hostile relatives of harmful bacteria to perform a sort of microscopic fratricide before the bugs can harm humans.

It would be interesting to see how this works in the field.

Dubai Municipality's Food Safety campaign Targets Households

Food safety message hits home

Praveen Menon and Matt Kwong

• Last Updated: August 26. 2009 10:19PM UAE / August 26. 2009 6:19PM GMT

Housewives are being targeted by Dubai officials in the Safe Kitchen Initiative. Ryan Carter / The National

DUBAI // Normally, food inspectors spend their time haranguing restaurants about the need for good hygiene. Now, they are taking aim at a new group: housewives who prepare meals for their families every day.

The Dubai Municipality launched what it is calling its Safe Kitchen Initiative to promote the correct preparation of meals.

To kick off the initiative, food inspectors will make a one-hour presentation at Lulu Hypermarket in Al Qusais starting at 8pm on Monday.

They will highlight kitchen dos and don’ts and will try to dispel some myths about food poisoning.

“The programme will be for an hour and people who are attending can ask questions regarding food safety and food poisoning,” the department said.

Anybody can attend, but officials are especially hoping housewives are in the audience since many cases of food poisoning are blamed on incorrect handling of food in homes.

The municipality has recorded 60 cases of food poisoning so far this year, two-thirds of which involved people eating at home.

If the demonstration is well-attened more will be organised in other malls and shops.

Cold foods - Are they a concern in Dubai?

Food safety is pretty high on everyone's list of "things to be aware of," especially in light of the recent food poisoning inscidents in Dubai. Media has been talking about the role of the enforcement agencies, but belive it or not, a good deal of food poisoning is caused by improper food handling by consumers.

Let's us look at an organism that Dubai food safety circle never talks about - Listeria Monocytogenes. We do not really know about the prevalence of the organism in Dubai because this is not an organism that our routine microbiological tests cover. Hospitals don’t test for the organism, so we do not know whether people are affected by this organism. What we know is that cold food is very popular in Dubai and Listeria Monocytogenes, an environmental pathogen, are bacteria that can cause a serious illness called listeriosis. These bacteria are found widely in nature and can be transmitted through food. Ready-to-eat products, such as deli meats and salads, cooked poultry products, smoked seafoods, soft cheeses and foods with a long refrigerated shelf life are often linked to outbreaks of Listeria. Once food is contaminated with Listeria the bacteria multiply quickly, even at the recommended refrigeration temperatures of 2 - 4ºC.

Why Should Dubai worry about Listeria Monocytogenes?

Look at our supermarkets; Aren’t we seeing more and more chilled food counters? Aren’t we seeing more salads, cold sandwiches and cold cut meat?

Our shops offer a variety of soft cheeses and other milk products that are known to be sources of Listeria M.

How about our weather? It is 45 ºC outside and any one who buys cold food exposes the food to this temperature for at least an hour. Many food safety experts recommend that cold food exposed to warm conditions for more than an hour should not be eaten!

Who is at risk of Listeria infection?

Listeria infection can affect people differently. Healthy people may develop few or no symptoms. However, for some people, the infection can be serious enough to require hospitalisation and be a threat to life.

People who are at particular risk of infection include:

Anyone whose immune system has been weakened by disease or illness, for example:

Cancer

Leukaemia

Diabetes

AIDS

Liver or kidney disease

The elderly

Pregnant women and their unborn babies

Anyone on medication such as prednisone or cortisone as this can also suppress the immune system. This includes organ transplant patients.

Newborn babies

Recommendations:

Wash raw vegetables thoroughly before eating.

Avoid raw (unpasteurized) milk or foods made from raw milk.

Keep cold foods cold at or below 4.4oC). Do not keep them out for longer than two hours at room temperature before eating.

Read and follow label instructions to "keep refrigerated" and use by a certain date mentioned on the label.

Additional recommendations to high-risk individuals:

Avoid soft cheeses such as Feta, Brie, Camembert, and blue-veined cheeses. There is no need to avoid hard cheeses, cream cheese, cottage cheese, or yogurt.

"Left-over" foods or "ready-to-eat" foods such as hot dogs, should be reheated until steaming hot before eating. Avoid microwave preparation of these foods.

Although the risk of listeriosis associated with foods from delicatessen counters is relatively low, high risk individuals such as pregnant women and immuno-suppressed persons may choose to avoid these foods or to thoroughly reheat cold cuts before eating.

• Further Reading
  http://www.health.vic.gov.au/ideas/diseases/listeria_facts
  http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/common/listeria.html
  
  
  
  

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