AN Irish study of E coli 0157 the bacteria which caused the death of 18 people in Scotland, has proved it is transferred into the carcass during slaughter.
Mr Declan Bolt on, research officer with the National Food Centre (NFC), said yesterday they had examined the transfer of E coli 0157 from the contaminated hide of the animal into the carcass during the routine slaughtering procedure.
Speaking at an NFC Microbiological Safety of Foods workshop he said it had been possible to trace the bacteria, using a safer strain of E coli 0157, right through the abattoir, including on the tools used saws, knives - and on the hands of the butcher and on the carcass.
"We have identified the problem and we have quantified it. Now we will try and solve it and stop the contamination and eliminate the problems of cross-contamination," said Mr Bolton.
"The results were quite surprising. It averaged at about 18 E coli per square centimetre of the carcass. When you consider that the area of the carcass runs into thousands of centimetres squared we are talking about fairly large number of E coli on it. The infective dose is 10 to 100 E coli per gramme of food consumed, a very low infective dose."
The next step is to try to find a way of controlling the problem, he said. They used a power hose to wash down the animals, surfaces and tools until they were visibly clean. "There was some improvement. It significantly reduced the ultimate level of contamination but it was not eliminated."
The long-term aim of the project was to mimic the various stages in beef burger manufacture and if there were problems to make recommendations.
He said E coli 0157 was first detected in Ireland in 1993. A joint survey between St James's Hospital, Dublin, and University College Hospital, Galway, revealed that 0. 11 5 per cent of children suffering from gastro-intestinal illness had the pathogen. The first reported outbreak occurred in 1995.
The first fatality occurred earlier this year, when a three-year-old Kildare child died as a result of E coli 0157.
"We had recent warnings that a disaster similar to the one in Scotland could happen here. The research undertaken at the National Food Centre aims to prevent this becoming a reality," Mr Bolton said.