Salmonella find could reduce risk from barbecues

A DISCOVERY by Irish scientists could help reduce the risk of food poisoning from barbecued food.

The team from Trinity College Dublin, along with British and German colleagues, have found a genetic process used by salmonella to survive in the body.

Salmonella causes food poisoning and kills about a million people every year, with about 400 cases notified to health authorities here annually. Professor Jay Hinton, Stokes professor of microbial pathogenesis at TCD, said their breakthrough research reveals how salmonella can thrive in salty conditions and infect humans. He said: “We hope that scientists will be able to use the findings to develop new ways to kill salmonella. It is an exciting step on the path of reducing levels of salmonella and reducing human disease worldwide.”

Levels of salmonella-associated food poisoning increase with barbecue usage, although there is no danger to health as long as meat is properly cooked. Salmonella food poisoning can be suffered by eating raw or undercooked contaminated food of animal origin.

Meanwhile, Fine Gael education spokesperson Brian Hayes has said it was fanciful to think there would be no cutbacks in the budget for research and development, given up to 2,000 school teachers’ jobs are being lost

In an interview with Dublin City University’s president Prof Ferdinand von Prondzynski, he also said a new system under which any vacancies in third-level colleges can only filled with sanctioned from the Higher Education Authority and the Department of Finance is Stalinist

l The interview is available at http://universitydiary.wordpress.com