A Holiday Favorite, Cranberry May Also Be Germ Fighter
Contact: Alison Lacombe, (845) 453-5385 or alison.lacombe@umit.maine.edu; Vivian Chi-Hua Wu, (207) 581-3101 or vivian.wu@umit.maine.edu
Vivian Chi-Hua Wu, University of Maine associate professor of microbiology and food safety in the department of food science and human nutrition, is a leading researcher in studying the health benefits and antimicrobial properties of the American Cranberry – the same berry that graces many holiday tables in the form of molded side dishes, sauces and dressings.
The antioxidant properties of the cranberry are well known, but Wu and Alison Lacombe, a Ph.D. candidate, are researching the cranberry’s power to fight food poisoning and improve food safety, including the ability to inhibit the growth of or possibly kill food-borne pathogens such as Salmonella Typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes.
Lacombe and Wu, along with co-authors Seth Tyler and Kelly Edwards of UMaine’s School of Biology and Ecology, published this year a paper in the International Journal of Food Microbiology about the cranberry’s effect against E. coli O157:H7.