CONTACT: Dr. Xiuping Jiang, (864) 656-6932; xiuping@clemson.edu

DATE: 5/23/2007

WRITER: Tom Lollis, (803) 284-3343, ext. 241; tlollis@clemson.edu

Clemson scientists will tackle tough bacteria

CLEMSON – A Clemson University scientist has been awarded a $212,992 grant to find better ways to keep a potentially deadly microorganism out of fresh produce.

Xiuping Jiang, in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, has a grant from Fresh Express – a producer and distributor of fresh, packaged salads – to determine how Escheria coli O157:H7 survives and grows in composted materials used to produce leafy greens.

That strain of bacteria infects approximately 73,000 persons and kills 60 each year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

“The hypothesis is that current composting practices may be insufficient to kill O157:H7, and that regrowth of pathogens may occur in some situations,” Jiang said.

During the next year she will conduct experiments in the laboratory, in the greenhouse and in field settings to find procedures which will be more efficient in eliminating O157:H7 from composted materials. Geoff Zehnder in Entomology, Soil and Plant Sciences and Feng Luo in Computer Science will collaborate on the project.

Jiang’s grant is one of nine totaling $2 million collectively which Fresh Express is funding at Clemson University, the University of Georgia, the University of California-Davis, the University of Arizona, Ohio State University and Oklahoma State University.

The search for industrywide food-safety solutions will be supervised by an independent scientific advisory panel.

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