CSU to host E. coli conference

FORT COLLINS - CSU food safety researchers will co-host an international scientific meeting on dangerous foodborne E. coli infections that can cause serious health problems, the university said Friday.

Representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and The Ohio State University also will play host to the 9th annual meeting in Boston in 2015. The event, held every three years, is expected to draw more than 500 researchers from 39 countries.

The United States has not played host to the event in 18 years.

Lawrence Goodridge, a CSU food microbiologist and one of the meeting's hosts, said that E. coli bacteria continue to emerge as significant causes of acute foodborne illness. Goodridge specializes in methods to detect and control the spread of foodborne pathogens.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently started testing beef for six additional strains of E. coli.

Earlier this month, the Business Report reported that the testing will lead to higher costs for meatpackers and consumers in Northern Colorado and elsewhere.