Lettuce and Tomatoes and Cucumbers - Oh my! Ten tips for managing the E. coli outbreak.
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...