ST. PAUL, Minn., Jan 26, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Ecolab Inc. has entered into an agreement with AvidBiotics Corp. under
which they will jointly work to develop a new technology that could
significantly reduce the presence of the pathogen E. coli O157:H7
in red meat products.
The companies' intent is to successfully commercialize AvidBiotics'
proprietary protein-based antibacterial technology, which can be
targeted against specific bacterial pathogens. While this platform
technology may be applicable to numerous food pathogens, the companies
are first targeting the food pathogen E. coli in red meat.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
over 70,000 people are infected with E. coli each year in the
United States, at least 2,000 are hospitalized, and approximately 60 die
as a direct result of E. coli infection and its complications.
Timothy Mulhere, Ecolab's senior vice president and general manager for
Food & Beverage North America, commented, saying, "Ecolab is committed
to helping customers reduce their food safety risks, offering multiple
interventions to help ensure a safer global food supply. We will work
with AvidBiotics to further develop this platform technology to
complement and further strengthen our industry-leading suite of
antimicrobial food safety solutions for the food processing market."
About Ecolab
With sales of $6 billion and more than 26,000 associates, Ecolab Inc.
(NYSE: ECL) is the global leader in cleaning, sanitizing, food safety
and infection prevention products and services. Ecolab delivers
comprehensive programs and services to foodservice, food and beverage
processing, healthcare, and hospitality markets in more than 160
countries. More news and information is available at www.ecolab.com.
About AvidBiotics
AvidBiotics Corp. is a biotherapeutics company with a proprietary
technology platform focused on the development of protein products
targeting bacterial disease. AvidBiotics is headquartered in South San
Francisco, Calif. For more information, go to www.avidbiotics.com
or contact Jim Knighton at 650.873.1141 (jim@avidbiotics.com).
(ECL-C)
SOURCE: Ecolab Inc.
Ecolab Inc.
Jennifer Kirscher 651.293.2846
Copyright Business Wire 2010