Antimicrobial-Resistant and Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli in Retail Foods

BackgroundExtraintestinal Escherichia coli infections are associated with specialized extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) strains and, increasingly, with antimicrobial resistance. The food supply may disseminate ExPEC and antimicrobial-resistant E. coli MethodsIn a prospective survey of 1648 diverse food items from 10 retail markets in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area during 2001–2003, selective cultures and disk-diffusion assays for the isolation and characterization of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli and polymerase chain reaction–based assays and O serotyping to define ExPEC-associated traits were performed Results E. coli contamination exhibited a prevalence gradient from miscellaneous foods (9%), through beef or pork (69%), to poultry (92%; P