Foodstuffs such as red meat and dairy products contain sugar molecules not naturally produced in the human body, which toxins from E. coli bacteria may bind to, triggering the pathway that causes disease. The sugar molecules, called Neu5Gc, are absorbed by the body and incorporated into intestinal and kidney tissue – later serving as targets for the E. coli toxin. This is a scenario where the organism – the toxin – actually needs something from the food it's carried in – that's truly unique. The sugar could be a key mechanism in the pathway allowing E. coli to infect a person, even from one bad burger. __
