Food testing at Beijing Olympics

While the world's athletes train for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, an American microbiologist has helped direct the international spotlight onto the host country's food safety practices.

According to a Kansas State University microbiologist and expert in real-time testing, the key to China's food safety fitness will be keeping E. coli in check. Daniel Fung, a professor of food science at the university, said E. coli is an important indicator pathogen.

At a large event like the Olympics in a city as large as Beijing, food contamination has the potential to affect a large number of people in a small area. China will be testing for air quality and food contaminants during the Olympic period, which Fung said is common practice at such large, international events.

"You're talking about millions of people running around and eating and drinking," Fung said.

"That's why testing is important for a large event like this."

Fung said that testing for E. coli is important because it can also indicate the presence of other pathogens, like salmonella, clostridium and listeria.

"There's not really a system to detect all of these pathogens at once," he said.

"E. coli is the largest volume pathogen. It indicates the quality of the environment, food and animals. It's a good idea to monitor it."

What makes the E. coli testing method used for the Beijing Olympics interesting, Fung said, is its speed. He said he is amazed the tests used next summer in China will provide results in about 20 minutes. Other E. coli testing methods can take hours, he said.