Probiotic Cattle Feed:
Eliminating O157:H7 at the Source

Imagine being able to eliminate E. Coli O157:H7 from 90 percent of America’s cattle herd prior to slaughter. That’s exactly what researchers from the University of Georgia have been able to accomplish with a new, probiotic feed they have developed which fills cattle gut with “friendly bacteria.”

“We’ve isolated these friendly bacteria from the intestinal tracts of cattle that do not carry E. coli O157,” explains Dr. Michael Doyle, Director of the UG’s Center for Food Safety and Quality Enhancement. “After a period of about two weeks the friendly bacteria out-compete the O157 and eliminate it from the animal.”

According to Doyle, who delivered his findings to a recent meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a feed supplement based on the UG trials is already under commercial development. Barring problems with regulatory approval, it should be available to livestock farmers within two years. The cost, says Doyle, should be “less than 50 cents per animal.”