The goal of this campaign was to get people thinking about gut health and the microbiome and to help break the stigma around discussing poop said Sarah Berry a nutrition professor at King’s College London during the 7th annual symposium hosted by the Harvard Chan Microbiome in Public Health Center on May 19 at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Berry explained that the campaign was inspired by research showing that longer digestion times correlate with greater microbial diversity in stool. She noted that the blue dye method offers a simple way to assess how different diets may influence the microbiome and potentially impact health outcomes like cardiovascular disease.

At the symposium speakers highlighted the diverse roles of the microbiome across the entire food system from dairy cow milk production and food fermentation to human dietary patterns all of which can ultimately impact human health. The event also included a panel of industry experts discussing the commercialization of microbiome science and a poster session featuring trainee research.

Erika Ganda assistant professor of food animal microbiomes at Pennsylvania State University presented her work on the milk microbiome in dairy cows emphasizing the interconnectedness of agricultural human and environmental health.

Erika Ganda and her team conducted a study on bovine mastitis a bacterial infection of the mammary glands in dairy cows. While the disease is typically treated with the antibiotic ceftiofur overuse can lead to antibiotic resistance posing risks to both animal and human health. In their research cows were infected with E. coli a common mastitis-causing bacterium and the changes in their milk microbiome were tracked. The findings showed that although the infection initially reduced microbial diversity the milk microbiome returned to normal over time regardless of whether the cows were treated with antibiotics. This suggests that antibiotics may not always be necessary for recovery and milk quality restoration.

Paul Cotter head of the Food Biosciences Department at Teagasc in Ireland also explored the milk microbiome in his presentation. His team collected milk samples from various Irish farms throughout the year and used high-throughput sequencing to identify microbial DNA. They found that factors like season and geographic location influenced the types of bacteria in the milk including those linked to spoilage and mastitis.
Eventually we may be able to predict the milk microbiome based on seasonal and farming practices Cotter said noting that this could help producers better assess milk quality.

Paul Cotter highlighted how high-throughput sequencing is being used to study food system microbiomes from detecting antibiotic-resistant bacteria in pork processing plants to exploring microbes that influence cheese quality and kefir’s health benefits. He emphasized that these technological advances are providing deeper insights into food safety and quality.

Source: https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/role-of-microbiome-in-food-system-explored-at-symposium/