<jats:title>Summary</jats:title><jats:p>The emergence of new antibiotic‐resistant <jats:italic>Escherichia coli</jats:italic> pathotypes associated with human disease has led to an investigation in terms of the origins of these pathogens. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, unspecified agents are responsible for 38.4 million of the 48 million (80%) cases of foodborne illnesses each year in the United States. It is hypothesized that environmental <jats:italic>E. coli</jats:italic> not typically associated with the ability to cause disease in humans could potentially be responsible for some of these cases. In order for an environmental <jats:italic>E. coli</jats:italic> isolate to have the ability to cause foodborne illness, it must be able to utilize the same attachment and virulence mechanisms utilized by other human pathogenic <jats:italic>E. coli</jats:italic>. Recent research has shown that many avian pathogenic <jats:italic>E. coli</jats:italic> (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">APEC</jats:styled-content>) isolated from poultry harbour attachment and virulence genes also currently found in human pathogenic <jats:italic>E. coli</jats:italic> isolates. Research also suggests that, in addition to the ability to cause gastrointestinal illnesses, <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">APEC</jats:styled-content> may also be an etiological agent of foodborne urinary tract infections (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">FUTI</jats:styled-content>s). The purpose of this article was to evaluate the evidence pertaining to the ability of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">APEC</jats:styled-content> to cause disease in humans, their potential for zoonotic transfer along with discussion on the types of illnesses that may be associated with these pathogens.</jats:p>