W.P :U.S. farmers, processors not required to test for deadly E. coli strain

[SnyderShrugged]

A dozen dead and a couple thousand sickened?....that ain't crap

or maybe it is.

sounds like a couple of thousand too dumb to wash their veggies before they ate them

[ixcuincle]

sounds like a couple of thousand too dumb to wash their veggies before they ate them

News insisted today that washing might help but bacteria stays on

News insisted more STRINGENT regulations were needed

[twa]

News insisted today that washing might help but bacteria stays on

News insisted more STRINGENT regulations were needed

Has there been a study on antacid use and this problem?

We are removing natures protections.

http://www.savvynaturalhealer.com/2011/06/how-you-can-prevent-e-coli-infection-at.html

[SnyderShrugged]

News insisted today that washing might help but bacteria stays on

News insisted more STRINGENT regulations were needed

Guess the news decided not to speak with the mayo clinic?

[ixcuincle]

Guess the news decided not to speak with the mayo clinic?

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/e-coli-outbreak-unsolved-13758245

[Duckus]

Wouldn't most of these problems be solved if the beef companies would feed their cattle grass instead of corn?

[killerbee99]

There are already 4 cases linked to the European E coli strai in the US

http://beta.news.yahoo.com/4-us-now-linked-german-e-coli-outbreak-204146483.html

ATLANTA (AP) — Four people in the U.S. were apparently sickened by the food poisoning outbreak in Europe, health officials said Friday. Three are hospitalized with a serious complication.

All four were in northern Germany in May. Though they didn't stay at the same hotel or eat at the same restaurants, officials are confident that they were infected with E. coli in that country.

Three of them — two women and a man — are hospitalized with kidney failure, a complication of E. coli that has become a hallmark of the outbreak. One of the four fell ill while on a plane to the U.S.

Two other cases are being investigated in U.S. service members in Germany, said Dr. Chris Braden, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The source of the outbreak hasn't been pinpointed but the focus has been on fresh tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers. More than 1,800 people have fallen ill, nearly all in Germany.

In a teleconference Friday with reporters, a Food and Drug Administration official said produce in the U.S. remains safe. The government has stepped up testing of food from Germany and Spain, but very little is imported from those countries or the rest of Europe.

[Duckus]

sounds like a couple of thousand too dumb to wash their veggies before they ate them

We don't know where these people got sick. Some of them might have been in restaurants for all we know. So lets hold off on calling people who could be about to die "too dumb."

[twa]

Wouldn't most of these problems be solved if the beef companies would feed their cattle grass instead of corn?

No, though some of the other crap they feed them ain't helping(hormones,growth stimulants and antibiotics) ....this is mainly vegetables

[LadySkinsFan]

Don't want to have big government and regulations that will contribute to a safe food supply. Caveat emptor.

[Duckus]

No, though some of the other crap they feed them ain't helping(hormones,growth stimulants and antibiotics) ....this is mainly vegetables

I remember watching Food Inc years ago and it drawing a conclusion between the beef industry's problems and the current outbreaks we see in vegetables. Can't really remember though.

[LadySkinsFan]

Could it be the cattle manure spread on the fields? Some antibiotics leach from urine and urine mixes naturally into manure.

[twa]

I wouldn't put too much stock in Food inc.'s 'facts' and foolishness

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBYQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Famericanagriwomen.org%2Ffiles%2Fresponse%2520to%2520food%2520inc.pdf&rct=j&q=Food%20Inc%20errors&ei=_qXpTdqAEaHx0gGOrsGXAQ&usg=AFQjCNG9PzEqMJPSr-EAymgwNcuo5RQLuw&cad=rja

[SnyderShrugged]

We don't know where these people got sick. Some of them might have been in restaurants for all we know. So lets hold off on calling people who could be about to die "too dumb."

It doesn't change the simple fact that simple hygene would do miles of prevention that yet another layer of regulation couldn't touch.

[twa]

Could it be the cattle manure spread on the fields? Some antibiotics leach from urine and urine mixes naturally into manure.

E-Coli doesn't come from antbiotics,it can come from manure if not composted or treated (organic vegetable farms naturally use quite a bit of manure)

Washing your vegetables is almost always sufficient to prevent contamination,

[ixcuincle]

Reputable link

It's a strange new world we're living in -- the kind of world where vegetables kill! The cucumber E. coli outbreak has spread from Germany to the Netherlands. As of Friday at noon, at least 18 people are dead and 1,800 people have gotten sick. The E. coli strain appears to be a new-and-improved, extra-deadly strain. Only the two strongest kinds of antibiotics work against it. This is the deadliest outbreak in recorded history.

Remember the days when all you had to do was wash your hands after handling raw meat, cook that meat thoroughly, and keep your eggs and milk cold? Now we can't even trust our vegetables. We're being told to scrub them really hard and maybe that'll take away about 85 percent of the bacteria there. Cross your fingers for the rest.

Well, I'm sick of shouldering all the responsibility for protecting my family against killer vegetables.

Okay libertarians, I see you waving your "personal responsibility" flags and yelling about too much regulation. Food companies should be free to poison us all! It's up to you to wage war against the poisons and toxins hiding in your food! Batten the hatches, get out your guns, it's every family for itself!

Obviously everyone should use food safety practices in their homes. I'll be making some of that vinegar solution Cooks Illustrated recommends because clearly we can't count on the industry to keep up their end of things. Until they get their act together, it's on us. I get it. But my point is, it shouldn't all be on us. As consumers we have the right to demand clean food.

[SnyderShrugged]

Reputable link

Give me a break! Yeah, its so much to ask to scrub your veggies before you serve them to your family. It makes sooooooo much more sense to increase the already high costs of food instead. Idiocy at its finest right there folks. Nanny Government cant save you, save yourself by doing what regular people have done for centuries.

[NavyDave]

Why are the TOFU and Broccoli loving Fanatics attempting to include US Meat and Poultry into Europe's latest Veggie mess?

I remember when it was revealed while I was stationed in Italy that some farmers there used human waste to fertilize the fields they planted Olives and Blood Oranges in.

It is not that difficult to take some time to wash your veggies. When I buy bags of greens, or Spinach, you best believe that I always wash them before cooking and eating it.

[ixcuincle]

What is conveniently being ignored here is how washing doesn't kill all bacteria

Did you all not read the ABC News video report I posted

Now why would ABC News lie

---------- Post added June-4th-2011 at 09:28 AM ----------

http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2011/06/02/as-europe-reels-from-e-coli-problems-with-food-safety-in-the-u-s/

But America has struggled to control recent problems with contaminated food, including salmonella outbreaks that led the recall of half a billion eggs last year. It doesn't help that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—the chief federal body charged with keeping much of our food system safe—didn't even have the ability to order a mandatory recall of contaminated food until the passage of the Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA) last year. The cost of foodborne illness in the U.S. is severe, with 48 million people becoming ill each year—1 in 6 Americans—hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths.

Read more: http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2011/06/02/as-europe-reels-from-e-coli-problems-with-food-safety-in-the-u-s/#ixzz1OJVYz3wC

Good article there on lack of funding and government cutting FDA funding that puts food safety in peril

[twa]

What is conveniently being ignored here is how washing doesn't kill all bacteria

Have the stores/markets hose them down with vinegar water

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14540742

the cleaning method that worked the best was the dilute vinegar rinse. It removed 98 percent of the bacteria.

now imagine the store doing it then you doing it at home.....it ain't rocket science

[SnyderShrugged]

What is conveniently being ignored here is how washing doesn't kill all bacteria

Did you all not read the ABC News video report I posted

Now why would ABC News lie

---------- Post added June-4th-2011 at 09:28 AM ----------

http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2011/06/02/as-europe-reels-from-e-coli-problems-with-food-safety-in-the-u-s/

Good article there on lack of funding and government cutting FDA funding that puts food safety in peril

I definitely would go with the opinion of the mayo clinic over a media hyped "crisis" from ABC.

Prevention

By Mayo Clinic staff

No vaccine or medication can protect you from E. coli-based illness, though researchers are investigating potential vaccines. To reduce your chance of being exposed to E. coli, avoid risky foods and avoid cross-contamination.

Risky foods

Avoid pink hamburger. Hamburgers should be well-done. Meat, especially if grilled, is likely to brown before it's completely cooked, so use a meat thermometer to ensure that meat is heated to at least 160 F (71 C) at its thickest point. If you don't have a thermometer, cook ground meat until no pink shows in the center.

Drink pasteurized milk, juice and cider. Any boxed or bottled juice kept at room temperature is likely to be pasteurized, even if the label doesn't say so.

Wash raw produce thoroughly. Although washing produce won't necessarily get rid of all E. coli — especially in leafy greens, which provide many spots for the bacteria to attach themselves to — careful rinsing can remove dirt and reduce the amount of bacteria that may be clinging to the produce.

Avoid cross-contamination

Wash utensils. Use hot soapy water on knives, countertops and cutting boards before and after they come into contact with fresh produce or raw meat.

Keep raw foods separate. This includes using separate cutting boards for raw meat and foods such as vegetables and fruits. Never put cooked hamburgers on the same plate you used for raw patties.

Wash your hands. Wash your hands after preparing or eating food, using the bathroom or changing diapers. Make sure that children also wash their hands before eating, after using the bathroom and after contact with animals.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/e-coli/DS01007/DSECTION=prevention

Its a question of value added activity and personal responsibility. There is little reason to add to bureaucratic and regulations (that already address food handling here btw) when a FREE and effective method of risk mitigation is available.

Let me ask....who here doesn't wash their vegetables before eating the raw?

[twa]

Let me ask....who here doesn't wash their vegetables before eating the raw?

Me....I have a wife for that menial crap.