09/22/06 Combating E. Coli

Combating E. coli. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. With outbreak of e. coli cases across the United States attributed to California spinach, consumers are concerned about their safety when it comes to bacteria. Once way to help combat the effects of the E. coli bacteria is by simply drinking cranberry juice. Amy Howell is an associate research scientist with Rutgers University. HOWELL: All the collective research on cranberries and the prevention of bacterial adhesion especially has really sparked interest in the community based on the fact that drinking cranberry juice actually will help to reduce the attachment of these bacteria to different cells in the body where they cause infection. Howell says that cranberry juice doesn't actually kill the bacteria but makes it so it cannot attach itself. She says there is another benefit as well. HOWELL: You don't get a resistance build up like you would an antibiotic and so the idea is that you could literally use cranberry on a daily basis and you wouldn't build up a resistance. It would still be very effective. Howell cautions that just drinking cranberry juice or eating cranberries will not prevent the contraction of E. coli. HOWELL: It could help. It can't guarantee anything because the body has; and bacteria have ways of getting around all kinds of defense mechanisms we throw at them. Spinach is only the latest carrier of the E. Coli bacteria. HOWELL: They've worked on different ways to incorporate cranberry and cranberry compounds into things like ground beef which is of course has got a reputation for having E. Coli contamination every once in a while and they really need to do some studies to see if the addition of cranberry to these products actually does reduce the incidents in the body. Cranberries have long been known to effectively combat urinary tract infections, stomach ulcers and most recently periodontal diseases in the mouth. It may sound like an old wives tale but drinking a glass of cranberry juice a day can be beneficial. HOWELL: Well I think it's an excellent idea as a preventative. The cranberry mixed in with the foods is a good idea because you know some of these studies have shown that you'll reduce the bacterial growth in the food. But that's before you eat it. We really don't know what happens in the body once you eat the food but you certainly can help to keep the bacterial numbers down in the food if cranberry is mixed in with the food or you drink a glass of cranberry juice with your meal. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.