E. coli sausages and Listeria cheese: pathogen research facility to open in Norway

Eating in Norway is not for the weak of stomach. Norwegian delicacies include smalahove (smoked lamb’s head), rakfisk (fermented fish) and gravet elg (sweet and salt cured moose).

But just when you thought Norwegian food couldn’t get any stranger, Norwegian food scientists are upping the ante, creating food contaminated with deadly pathogens. Escherichia coli sausages and Listeria monocytogenes cheese are among the foodstuffs that will be on the menu at a new facility in the town of Ås that will focus on foodborne pathogens.

“The pathogen processing plant will be a national resource centre, available for researchers from across Norway and abroad who wish to conduct experiments with hazardous food production,” explains Helga Næs, Research Director Food Safety and Quality at the research institute Nofima.

Nofima is partnering with the Norwegian University of Life Sciences to develop the project, which is funded by the Research Council of Norway. The pilot plant is expected to open in 2013.

“So far the only option available to researchers has been to use models, such as cell cultures in tubes or dishes with nutrients, to study these hazardous bacteria,” said Næs. “However, models do not necessarily reflect what’s happening on the surface of a lettuce or inside a sausage.”

In 2006, E. coli-contaminated smoked sausage caused 18 people to fall ill and one child to die. In response, Norwegian researchers established a small pilot plant in a standard Biosafety level III laboratory to mimic the production process, in order to determine the factors that contributed to the E. coli poisoning. The new facility will expand on this original plant to continue research into foodborne pathogens.

Nofima says that although its researchers have discovered much about pathogen contamination of food, less is known about what happens to the microbes during the production process. The expanded facility will allow researchers to determine how raw materials and products are contaminated from equipment and conveyor belts, the most effective measures to eliminate pathogens and the optimal way to disinfect equipment.

The facility’s Biosafety level III rating means the diseases “may have serious or lethal consequences”, so a number of precautions will be taken to ensure worker safety. Researchers will wear protective gear, follow strict safety regulations and be locked inside the sealed premises. All access is through air locks, external airflow will be microfiltered and low air pressure inside the plant will ensure that microbes won’t escape outside if there is a leak.

“No one will be at risk by working here,” Næs said. “On the contrary - this should be an engaging experience for the researchers, contributing towards making food safer and preventing public health hazards.”

The research will look at all aspects of the food production cycle, as well as a range of raw materials. “It will be possible to contaminate anything from fruit to seafood with harmful and potentially lethal bacteria - following the process through production, packing and storage,” Næs said.