Persistence of STEC in grain, milling by-products, flour, and raw follow up products
At a glance
- Project leader : Prof. Dr. Lars Fieseler
- Project team : Silvan Wetzel
- Project status : completed
- Funding partner : Third party
- Contact person : Lars Fieseler
Description
Shiga Toxin producing E.coli (STEC, syn. VTEC) have been
detected by the FSVO laboratories in swiss wheat and spelt flours.
The isolated strains (except one) do not belong to serovars
typically associated with human infections.
To better understand the entry, horizontal transfer, and
persistence of these bacteria in grain, flour, milling by-products,
dough and semi-finished products, we aim to sample the fabrication
process in swiss mills. In addition, the persistence of STECs in
the mentioned products will be studied appliying challenge tests.
Finally, a quantitative real time PCR based detection procedure of
STEC from these products will be established with a particular
focus on sampling, sample size and sample preparation.