E. coli O104: Should we believe them this time?
Choose your sprouts carefully Apparently its now thought that fenugreek seeds sourced in Egypt were the cause of the recent outbreaks in Germany and France. I suggest you read today's Update on E.coli O104 outbreaks from EFSA and draw your own conclusions. The update tells us that the particular batch of fenugreek seeds has been…
Germany scores own goal…its not Spanish cucumbers!
It's not cucumbers, it might be beansprouts? E. coli O104 has killed 22 people so far, made over1400 ill and reached 11 countries. It has had a significant effect on two countries- damaging Spain’s economy and damaging the credibility of the German public health system. The fallout is broader still: the EU – and that…
Why Washing Your Vegetables and Hands May Not Protect You from E. coli, Staphylococcus, Salmonella…?
Following the recent outbreak of E. coli food poisoning in Germany that claimed at least 37 lives as of 14 June 2011 and still counting, numerous articles have been written, but many fundamental questions still remain unanswered. As you will remember, contaminated Spanish cucumbers were initially blamed for the outbreak of E. coli infection, which prompted the Spanish…
Outbreak of E. coli acronyms in Germany
Germany seems to be suffering an outbreak of acronyms alongside an unusual outbreak of foodborne E. coli. Reports list the culprit as STEC, EHEC, VTEC, shiga toxin producing E. coli, verotoxin producing E. coli….They are all talking about the same thing. Heres a quick guide to E coli diarrhoea acronyms and a summary of the…
…get out of the kitchen
One of the implications of all this energy we waste to swap coffee and wheat is that we’re giving climate change a helping hand. The contribution made by today’s food production systems to climate change globally will have tremendous impacts on the food it produces in the future. So this week, in a document much…