University of Georgia food microbiologists Larry Beuchat and
Michael Doyle have been awarded the Partners in Public Health
Award by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Beuchat and Doyle are researchers with the UGA College of
Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences’ Center for Food Safety in Griffin,
Ga. They were nominated for the award by administrators at the
National Center for Infectious Diseases.
Tomatoes and
Salmonella
Beuchat is an internationally recognized expert on fruits and
vegetables. He was selected for the CDC honor based on his work
on several outbreaks of salmonellosis that were associated with
raw tomatoes.
Before Beuchat’s research, tomatoes were not viewed as
potential
vehicles for transmission of Salmonella. His research
clearly
showed the pathogen can grow and multiply on raw tomatoes at room
temperature.
Doyle, director of the Center for Food Safety, was selected
for his participation in several investigations of large
food-borne
disease outbreaks.
Foodborne Illness
Outbreaks
These investigations included a 1985 Midwestern U.S. outbreak
of salmonellosis which affected 250,000 people and the 1993
hamburger-associated
E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in western U.S. states.
The CDC also applauded the scientists’ research into
prevention
recommendations. The award nomination listed as an example a
multistate
outbreak of shigellosis in 1998.
Parsley and
Shigella
The Minnesota State Health Department was investigating three
outbreaks that appeared to be linked to three separate
restaurants.
Health officials soon discovered the outbreaks, as well as
Shigella
outbreaks in several other states, were all linked to
parsley.
Working with the CDC, Beuchat and Doyle conducted research
to see whether Shigella multiplies in parsley under
restaurant
conditions and, if so, how this can be prevented.
Their studies revealed Shigella bacteria multiply much
faster when parsley is chopped and kept at room temperature, a
common practice in the restaurant business.
As a result of the study, the UGA researchers now recommend
parsley be decontaminated by being soaked in either diluted
bleach
or diluted vinegar.
Beuchat has worked on joint projects with the CDC for the past
seven years and Doyle for the past 15 years.