Trip Tip a Day

A report issued two days ago links the French and German E. coli (STEC) 0104:H4 outbreaks to fenugreek seeds imported from Egypt. The trace of the seeds from Egypt to container ship to distribution at garden centers is fascinating.  For a full read, see the link below. "The comparison of the back tracing information from the French and German outbreaks leads to the conclusion that lot # 48088 of fenugreek seeds imported by the Importer, from Egypt, is the most likely common link, although it cannot be excluded that other lots may be implicated. Given the possible severe health impact of exposure to a small quantity of contaminated material, and, in the absence of information regarding the source and means of contamination and possible cross-contamination, it seems appropriate to consider all lots of fenugreek from the identified exporter as suspect. In this regard, the thus far negative test results from the microbiological tests carried out on seeds cannot be interpreted as proof...

Breakthrough?  Sprouts have been in, then out, now in again as the possible source for the E. coli outbreak in Europe.  4 Interesting snippets in the news today: Glossary - EHEC - Enterohemorrhagic E. coli                STEC - Shiga toxin producing E. coli                Spiegel Online and WHO call it EHEC, the CDC is calling it STEC.                  HUS - Hemolytic uremic syndrome (involves the kidney failure)                 1)  Scientists 'Find EHEC Bacteria at Sprout Farm' from Spiegel International Online: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,767935,00.html    6/10/2011 "Health authorities in Germany have finally been able to show that the pathogens which caused the deadly EHEC outbreak came from sprouts at an organic farm in the Uelzen district. According to SPI...

The bacteria known for obliterating kidneys has moved on to the neurological system: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,767569,00.html

Simply put - in the U.S. we are looking for 0157:H7   (Shiga Toxin producing E. coli)   as a marker for food contamination. HOWEVER, there are six non-1057 STEC (Shiga Toxin producing E. coli) that we NEED to be looking for.   Here, in the interest of informing and not overwhelming you are 2 very important paragraphs from Food Safety News, http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/06/a-us-response-to-the-european-e-coli-outbreak/ "In fact, numbers released this week by the Centers for Disease Control show that the United States has about the  same number of non-O157 STECs as O157:H7 STEC . This means that it is time to change the way we handle these deadly pathogens. In 1994, Mike Taylor declared E. coli O157:H7 to be  an adulterant in meat  and poultry products when he was Undersecretary of Food Safety at USDA. In recent years, USDA has repeatedly been asked to address this and declare the "Big Six" non-O157 STECs to be adulterants as well, but ...

June 7, 2011 Germany's terrific scientists at the Robert Koch Institute appear hampered by a bureaucratic maze that does not exist in health care crisis management in the USA. Der Spiegel Online states "The country (Germany), they say, is surprisingly ill-equipped to handle outbreaks on this scale because of its complex bureaucratic structures and regionally fragmented division of responsibilities. Experts say Germany's alert system is  rudimentary compared to those in other developed nations. " http://www.rki.de/cln_144/nn_217400/EN/Home/EHEC__O104__H4,templateId=raw,property=publicationFile.pdf/EHEC_O104_H4.pdf "While news of a potentially deadly outbreak can take up to two weeks to reach top German health authorities, other developed nations such as the United States and Japan, have instituted early warning mechanisms." http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,766969,00.html CDC updates statement: http://www.cdc.gov...

European E. coli outbreak June 2011 Of concern to anyone traveling through or sending a loved one to Europe right now is the deadliest outbreak of E. coli in history. Here are my tips, as a microbiologist and Mom: 1)  We all know not to eat raw salad in India.  Apply the same to Europe (FOR NOW). 2)  We all know not to eat unwashed fruits in India.  Apply the same to Europe. 3)  Health depts. in Europe have NOT linked the bacterium to a food YET.  So, make sure any hamburger type dishes are cooked to the medium to well done point.  That mean NO pink.  Could there still be an undercooked meat link?  Let's be safe here and say maybe. 4)  Cutting through an unwashed melon could bring bacteria from the outside of the melon to the inside where you eat it.  Wash your melon!  Which brings us to point #5... 5)  If it's from a restaurant and it's raw, and you can't see how it has been washed or prepared, then j...