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CDC Food Safety Alert: E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Romaine Lettuce

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Re: CDC Food Safety Alert: E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Romaine Lettuce

#71

Post by adrianmonk »

jaggederest wrote: post #12
craftyguy wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a property of most (all?) lettuces, but here we are with two romaine-related instances in 5 months.

Interestingly enough, bean sprouts are eaten raw, are not (thoroughly) cleaned before eating, and must be, by definition, held at an unsafe temperature to sprout. They also cause a bunch of foodborne illness. I think it's a pretty clear connection.

Sure, but why not other types of lettuce like red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, iceberg lettuce, or butter lettuce?

Re: CDC Food Safety Alert: E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Romaine Lettuce

#72

Post by jandrese »

rhizome wrote: post #68
vel0city wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am pretty much always going to throw a cut of meat on the grill or in a pan on the stove. This action brings the food up to a temperature where it tends to kill/denature a lot of the bad bugs in the food. I'm likely to just rinse off an apple or lettuce, which may or may not successfully clean the food.

This action brings the food up to a temperature where it tends to kill/denature a lot of the bad bugs in the food. Unfortunately that's not enough, because cooking temperatures don't always denature the toxins that the bugs produce, which is what the real problems come from.

While true, for the most part toxic subsistences won't build up to dangerous levels before the food reaches a point where it is obviously spoiled. The problem with E. Coli is that it starts self-reproducing in your gut, so even a small dose can turn deadly over time. This is also why simple washing is not always sufficient, as it can be difficult to completely eradicate a biofilm on a delicate leaf without destroying the food in the process.

Re: CDC Food Safety Alert: E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Romaine Lettuce

#73

Post by dragonwriter »

windexh8er wrote: post #20
craftyguy wrote: post #2

It seems like no one learned anything after the last one 5 months ago: https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/o157h7-04-18/index.html IIRC the first outbreak was from farmers in Yuma watering their fields with water that had been contaminated by runoff from a large cattle farm upstream. (The article says the two aren't related, but it seems like more than a coincidence unless romaine lettuce is more succeptible to contractin…

Consumer Reports had a more thorough article than the short write up by the CDC. I find it frustrating the CDC blanket points the fjnger at lettuce without disclosing root cause. People confuse the fact that plants are not the source, animal feces is (most likely in this case). Just as s it was last time... https://www.consumerreports.org/food-safety/what-growers-are...

> I find it frustrating the CDC blanket points the fjnger at lettuce without disclosing root cause.

Uh, they disclose the root cause, the specific strain of STEC.

You are upset they aren't highlighting an intermediate level between the root cause and the actual actionable consumer information.

Re: CDC Food Safety Alert: E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Romaine Lettuce

#75

Post by newnewpdro »

rhizome wrote: post #68
vel0city wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am pretty much always going to throw a cut of meat on the grill or in a pan on the stove. This action brings the food up to a temperature where it tends to kill/denature a lot of the bad bugs in the food. I'm likely to just rinse off an apple or lettuce, which may or may not successfully clean the food.

This action brings the food up to a temperature where it tends to kill/denature a lot of the bad bugs in the food. Unfortunately that's not enough, because cooking temperatures don't always denature the toxins that the bugs produce, which is what the real problems come from.

> Unfortunately that's not enough, because cooking temperatures don't always denature the toxins that the bugs produce, which is what the real problems come from.

Isn't the problem that the "bugs" produce the toxins while thriving inside your body? If you kill them through cooking, they won't be producing anything while inside you when dead.

Re: CDC Food Safety Alert: E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Romaine Lettuce

#77

Post by chiefalchemist »

elipsey wrote: post #34
chiefalchemist wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Long to short, the "pollution" from large scale factory animal farming is poisoning the downstream vegetable farming. Is that it? Given the disconnect between the FDA and the EPA can't the CDC step in? Is there no authority at the state level?

I don't know. Evidence is inconclusive, but suggestive. I'm throwing out my lettuce like CDC told me to, but I woundn't go pointing fingers on twitter just yet. :)

Well, we do know that in this case shit __doesn't__ just happen. The sources has to be from somewhere. And we do know factory animal farms have plenty of unsavoury byproducts.

I agree. Can't jump to conclusions. Even so, if feels like a preventable accident that's eventually going to happen (if it hasn't done so already). The ag industry is a strong lobby. Given that those animals need feed there's a clear incentive for all involved to keep the truth from coming out.

Re: CDC Food Safety Alert: E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Romaine Lettuce

#78

Post by xaqfox »

nixpulvis wrote: post #58
ryukafalz wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Absolutely everything is rinsed Don't rinse raw meat. It makes things worse! https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety...

I mean, unless I'm eating it completely raw (where is hope to practically know the cow by name) then washing the outside before cooking it seems like a complete waste of time.

The thought was to do it prior to seasoning to provide better coverage (after drying). Recipes switched to having you just pat the meat dry with paper towels to avoid the cross contamination vector.

Re: CDC Food Safety Alert: E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Romaine Lettuce

#79

Post by agsdfgsd »

vel0city wrote: post #59
windexh8er wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Growing lettuce in your garden bears very few risks. Buying lettuce from a store also carriers very free risks if you know the source. Plants are significantly less risk than any red meat or white meat. The way the CDC presents this makes it appear, to the uniformed, that this is a plant borne illness - of which it is not. It's almost certain it is human created through misuse of fecal matter disposal or fertilizer.

I am pretty much always going to throw a cut of meat on the grill or in a pan on the stove. This action brings the food up to a temperature where it tends to kill/denature a lot of the bad bugs in the food. I'm likely to just rinse off an apple or lettuce, which may or may not successfully clean the food.

>This action brings the food up to a temperature where it tends to kill/denature a lot of the bad bugs in the food.

That action may bring it up to a safe temperature. The fact that people die from e. coli poisoning from undercooked meat all the time shows that this is not foolproof.

>I'm likely to just rinse off an apple or lettuce, which may or may not successfully clean the food.

Which is an absolute non-issue if that food hasn't been sprayed with feces in the first place, as the parent poster pointed out. You can't get e. coli from unwashed vegetables unless someone has sprayed animal (including human) feces on it first.

Re: CDC Food Safety Alert: E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Romaine Lettuce

#80

Post by agsdfgsd »

phyzome wrote: post #63

Reminder that if you're getting your lettuce from a local farm at the farmers market, you probably don't have to worry about this. This outbreak is from some industrial romaine lettuce growing and processing operation. (Yes, it's possible for local produce to be contaminated with E. coli as well. I have no idea if it's more or less likely on average. But it shouldn't be involved in this outbreak, so go ahead and make…

Be sure you actually know this local farm is real. Lots of stalls at farmer's markets are just buying the same produce as grocery stores and selling it at a higher price while lying about where it came from.

http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2016/food/farm-to-fable/far...

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/farmers-markets-lies-market...

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