Regulators urged to test for less common, just as potent E. coli strains

The Food and Drug Administration is learning it must broaden its testing procedures for less common E. coli bacteria.

According to an AP report, the recent recall of pre-cut Romaine lettuce – which has infected at least 24 people in four states – led investigators to an uncommon strain of the E. coli bacteria.

The most reported strain of E. coli bacteria behind a food safety outbreak is O157:H7, and testing for it is commonplace. It is responsible for infecting about 73,000 people a year. Many of those infected require hospitalization due to severe symptoms.

But hundreds of different strains of E. coli bacteria exist, and food safety investigators routinely only test for a handful. Recent outbreaks have food safety advocates pushing regulators for more widespread testing on less known strains.

One of the strains has been linked to the Romaine lettuce, which is making a slow return to the market. The other was from 2009 and infected more than 340 people in the midwest.

These less known strains of E. coli account for about 30,000 illnesses per year. Only five percent of public health labs nationwide test for those bacteria.