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Shapeshifting Vibrio bacteria and the threat to food safety

New Food hears from Dr Sariqa Wagley on the discovery of ‘sleeping’ Vibrio which can lay dormant during the cooler seasons.

It’s hard enough to identify and prevent the presence of foodborne pathogens in food products in the first place, but what about when the species that causes illness shapeshifts?

Earlier in the year, Dr Sariqa Wagley revealed that she and her team at the University of Exeter had discovered that some species of Vibrio bacteria, which can cause gastroenteritis in humans, can lay dormant in sub-optimal growth conditions, making them harder to detect.