The Adherence of Escherichia coli 0157:H7 on Lettuce Leaves over Time and Removal Technique using Chlorinated Water

Presenter Information

Karenzha Huwae, Minnesota State University - MankatoFollow

Location

CSU Ballroom

Start Date

21-4-2014 10:00 AM

End Date

21-4-2014 11:30 AM

Student's Major

Biological Sciences

Student's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Mentor's Name

Dorothy Wrigley

Mentor's Email Address

dorothy.wrigley@mnsu.edu

Mentor's Department

Biological Sciences

Mentor's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Description

EHEC 0157:H7 causes hemorrhagic colitis (HUS) characterized by renal injury that leads to permanent kidney failure, impairment of the central nervous system, and ultimately death. Fresh leafy produce has carried the 10 organisms needed for illness. Thus understanding the behavior of EHEC on produce is essential. Previous research conducted in Spring 2013 showed that EHEC did not grow as well as E. coli lab strain on lettuce leaves. Both strains grew better at room temperature rather than at 4C temperature. This project examines the adherence of EHEC on the lettuce surface as a factor of time and the effectiveness of different wash solutions for EHEC removal. For survival and adherence 10 million EHEC were placed onto pieces of lettuce, washed with different wash solutions (chlorinated water, alcohol solutions, and distilled water), stored at room temperature for 0, 1, 2, 4, 6 hours and refrigerator for 0, 6, 24, 48 hours. For survival, a plate count will determine the number of bacteria. I expect the longer exposure time resulted in higher number of EHEC and lettuce washed with chlorinated water gives better removal compared to lettuce washed with other wash solutions.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.