Risk Profile on Non-O157 Verotoxin- Producing Escherichia Coli in Produce, Beef, Milk and Dairy Products in Canada

This risk profile on non-O157 verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli serotypes (non-O157 VTEC) in produce, beef, milk and dairy products in Canada, outlines associated potential public health threats, while identifying areas where additional data are required to inform microbiological risk assessment and risk management action. The following outputs of this risk profile may contribute to risk analysis relating to non-O157 VTEC in Canada: • Beef products, milk and dairy products, and produce are all food commodities associated with non-O157 illness outbreaks. Some non-O157 VTEC may cause foodborne illnesses similar to E. coli O157:H7, however in general, non-O157 VTEC cause less severe illness or lead to asymptomatic infections. In the absence of epidemiological evidence (i.e., the inability to show that the detected bacteria has previously caused illness in humans), the ability to establish the health concern of isolates, is limited. • Non-O157 VTEC serogroups most commonly implicated in human infections differ between countries. In Canada, the top six non-O157 VTEC serogroups associated with serious illness are: O26, O103, O111, O117, O121, and O145. • The dose-response(s) for non-O157 VTEC in beef products, milk and dairy, and produce as groups is currently not possible to determine. • VTEC are defined by the production of verotoxins. Other virulence factors are associated with clinical isolates of non-O157 VTEC and may indicate an increased threat to human health, but a common virulence profile for pathogenic VTEC has not been identified. • The government of Canada commissioned the Federal VTEC Working Group to develop detection and isolation methods for non-O157 VTEC as an initial regulatory response to support the reporting of non-O157 VTEC in foods. A Canadian VTEC method collaboratively developed by Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is being used to detect the presence of non-O157 VTEC in food. 1 Angela Catford, Valentin Kouame, Amalia Martinez-Perez, Alexander Gill, Enrico Buenaventura, Helene Couture and Jeffrey M Farber: Risk Profile on Non-O157 Verotoxin-Producing Escherichia Coli in Produce, Beef, Milk and Dairy Products in Canada ARTICLE Int Food Risk Anal J, 2014, 4:21 | doi: 10.5772/59208 International Food Risk Analysis Journal