According to new insights by scientists at Freie Universität Berlin, the use of antibiotics against Escherichia coli bacteria (E. coli) in raising pigs for pork production can be reduced or avoided by the addition of probiotics to the diet. A research group headed by Prof. Lothar Wieler from the Institute of Microbiology and Epizootics pointed out after extensive testing that by adding the probiotic Enterococcus faecium to the feed, the number of E. coli bacteria that infect the intestinal mucosa is reduced (ExPEC - extraintestinal pathogenic E . coli). The study was published in full in the latest issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology of the American Society for Microbiology and is discussed in the December issue of the prestigious Microbe magazine.