The group has received a $939,220 National Research Initiative in Food Safety grant. Nagaraja, a university distinguished professor of microbiology, said the issue of meat safety is receiving full attention from both researchers and the meat industry and is being addressed.

"This research project will greatly enhance our understanding of the exact relationship between dietary distillers' grains and E. coli 0157:H7 in cattle, as well as provide us with an opportunity to look at novel ways to mitigate the potential risks of feeding this valuable co-product," Nagaraja said. The research team will look at ways to reduce the amount of E. coli O157:H7 present, such as administering a probiotic, an experimental vaccine and feeding brown seaweed, a plant shown to have an effect in reducing E. coli O157:H7 prevalence in cattle.

In addition, they also will study whether feeding varied amounts of the distillers' grain or making it dry or wet has an effect on the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 detected in the feces.

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K-state University  

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