CAN A CAMPAIGN GET EUROPEANS TO EAT FRUIT AND VEGETABLES AGAIN?

Among all the other problems it has caused (see previous post) this European outbreak of super-toxic E.coli 0104 bacteria decimated consumption of fresh vegetables - extending to fruit as well. You'll recall that cucumbers, and to a lesser extent, tomatoes and lettuce, were main suspects for a while, until sprouts (which are legumes) were found to be the culprit. People simply became afraid to even bite into an apple, let alone munch that unfairly maligned cucumber or tomato. A lot of this summer's crops was plowed under or fed to pigs, goats and other farm animals that like their veggies.

EU ministers of agriculture met earlier this month to discuss a way to compensate farmers and repair the image of fresh produce. One of the several proposals is to have a massive promotional campaign. Many such campaigns already exist, including the one by Freshfel Europe (the European Fresh Produce Association), which has been in existence since 2006 (see logo above).

Some countries also have their own. The “Apples from Germany” campaign had Germany's "apple queens" present baskets of apples to Chancellor Angela Merkel and other government ministers. Other aspects of the campaign were more fun - especially the touring “Apfel-o-Mat.” This was a highly popular photo booth, where anyone could have a funny photo taken with their favorite apple.

I also like the website launched by tomato and cucumber producers in France. It is targeted to children, with quizzes and games (see photo).

City children who have never seen a tomato plant can learn all about tomato production. The campaign also has a newsletter and online videos for adults. Then there are all those other campaigns in other countries to promote kiwi fruit or blueberries from South America or bananas or some other produce.

So if another campaign is launched, will it get demand back to where it was before this outbreak? I have been involved in a few of such campaigns, and well, the results vary.

Anyway, I have noticed that after a food-linked outbreak, people avoid the culprit food for a while, and then gradually go right back to eating it. The chances are that this will happen even before the EU figures out who is going to pay for it and the campaign gets off the ground.

To your good health - and eating those veggies!

TSF

SOME AFTER EFFECTS OF THE E.COLI OUTBREAK IN EUROPE

The E.coli 0104 outbreak is winding down, but it has left a lot of damage behind - political and economic as well as human.

There is still talk of Spain suing Germany over the "killer cucumber" claim which decimated the Spanish cucumber industry and affected other fresh vegetable exports.

A couple of days ago, Germany's Federal Parliamentary president visited Spain for the first time since the incident. But he said Germany is not ready to compensate Spain for the losses suffered, although he did say something about helping to restore international confidence is Spanish veggies (what - another Spanish cucumber munching photo op?).

And it wasn't just vegetable farmers and distributors and vendors in Spain who suffered massive losses, but in other countries as well - The Netherlands, UK and elsewhere. Half of the cucumber crop of the Netherlands is exported to Germany, and the losses have been reported at least at 9M euro a week, during the outbreak.

The UK Fresh Produce Consortium is up in arms, demanding full compensation for their "significant losses and a drop in consumption of salad products due to unfounded and premature claims made by the German authorities..." (quoting Nigel Jenney, Chief Executive of the FPC). I doubt they are going to get it either.

And then there are all the losses suffered by sprout growers and packers, not only in Germany - where people have been advised not to eat them raw- but also in other countries.

But what about all the human suffering - some of it long term? Let's not forget that apart from the misery of severe illness and fatalites, some people's health has been permanently damaged. A German expert, Dr. Helge Karch, at the University of Muster (quoted in today's New York Times, p.A5), who has been leading a team investigating the outbreak, expects that at least 100 of the victims of this outbreak will need kidney transplants or will have to undergo dialysis for the rest of their lives.

To your good health,
TSF

E.COLI HAS US PASSING ON THE SALAD

There is still no solution to the mysterious E.coli bacteria outbreak in Europe. We don't know what the source was, but the main suspects are still cucumbers, lettuce and tomatoes.

People are getting nervous and forgoing their salad. First in Spain, now in other European countries as well, farmers are having to throw out their vegetable crops, or feed them to the goats and pigs. The market vendors are suffering too. The German government has advised people not to eat raw vegetables. That means no cucumber salad, no tomatoes on your sandwich, and no salads.

In Hamburg, the center of this deadly outbreak, the main market has few customers and sales have fallen. Even the U.S. military bases in Germany are pulling tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers from the menus, salad bars and commissary shelves. And American Airlines has taken green salads off its menus on flights out of Europe.

But it's not just in Germany. People in other European countries are also being more cautious about fresh vegetables and especially the three main suspects. Even in Britain, farmers are having to discard tons of salad crops because of poor demand - not just of cucumbers, but also of lettuce, tomatoes - and even peppers. As of today, there have been at least 11 confirmed cases of this illness in the UK - four among visiting Germans, and the rest among Brits who recently visited Northern Germany, or, had close contact with someone from there.

Russia has gone so far as to ban import of all vegetables from Europe, which will also hit European farmers hard since it is a major market for their produce.

With all these bailouts and other problems, that's all the EU needed.
To your good health!

TSF

SPANISH CUCUMBERS NOT THE CAUSE OF OUTBREAK

So we are back to the beginning. The Hamburg Institute for Hygiene and the Environment now says that it may not be Spanish cucumbers after all that are causing the deadly E.coli bacteria outbreak in Europe. Here we go again - another botched up case of investigating a food borne illness. It happens, particularly when researchers and authorities are under pressure. As we said in earlier blogs, it wasn't a conclusive link yet.

Apparently the testing found that the E.coli bacteria isolated from the stools of sick people don't quite match the bacteria in those suspect Spanish cucumbers.

That leaves us with several questions which have not been answered.

First, are they sure that food is really the cause of the outbreak? Conceivably, it could be contaminated water, or beer or coke or ice or something else. Did interviews with victims ask what they drank recently?

Secondly, if it is food, what is it? Yes, we seem to be back to the beginning on that one as well. Some of the alternatives that have been tossed out over the past week or so are tomatoes, lettuce and eggplant. Who knows, maybe it isn't even one of these. Maybe it's cabbage.

Thirdly, what are those E.coli 0104 bacteria doing in those Spanish cucumbers? Or, was that laboratory finding a mistake too, and they weren't really there?

The mystery deepens. And unfortunately, this one had better be solved quickly. Illnesses and deaths are increasing. And so are political tensions.

To your good health!
TSF

THE "CUCUMBER BUG" COMES TO THE U.S.

It was simply a matter of time before it happened. Many of the illnesses from the very dangerous E.coli bacteria sweeping through Europe have been among visitors to Germany. And, Americans also travel, including to Germany. And there we have it - now the first two possible cases among Americans who have just returned from a trip there.

Notice that I said "possible." To my knowledge the tests haven't yet been finished. And there must be a lot of hysteria out there, particularly among people who have been in the Hamburg region eating salads. Secondly, notice that I said "first two." After all the correct predictions I made about radiation-contamination of food in the Fukushima area of Japan, I am on a bit of a roll. So let me make another "food safety prophecy." There will be more cases reported in the US in the next few days.

Let's see if I am right.

But if you are just back from Europe, and were in fact eating salads or eating raw cucumbers, keep yourself healthy and keep a watch on your symptoms. If you have diarrhea and it goes on for more than a few days, or is bloody - go see a doctor or go to the emergency room. Also, make sure you do not pass on bacteria to any of your relatives and friends. Practice good hygiene.

To your good health!
TSF

UPDATE ON THE "KILLER CUCUMBER BUG."

There have now been 16 confirmed deaths from pathogenic E.coli 0104:H4 bacteria in food in Europe - probably raw contaminated organic cucumbers that were imported from Spain. We are still not 100% positive. The number of illnesses is reported to be around 1,200.

But remember two things. First, there is always a time delay in reporting of food borne illnesses, so, while an outbreak is still ongoing, they are always a bit behind the actual numbers. Secondly, only a fraction of food borne illnesses are actually ever reported. Some people, who have a milder case - and they do exist, even in this outbreak, may never go to a doctor or a hospital, and never enter the reporting system. Let's assume the number is actually double, triple - or even more.

It looks to me as though about a quarter to a third of the cases of this illness are resulting in complications of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which is very serious and can be fatal when the kidneys are badly affected. If true, that is a very high incidence - much higher than usual with outbreaks of the more common E.coli 0157:H7 (closer to 10%). In other words, this is a very, very virulent bacteria.

As mentioned, the definitive cause of the illness is still largely unknown, although stories and rumors are flying. It has also become a political battleground, with every country that is accused - not just Spain, but also the Netherlands and Denmark, loudly denying any guilt, issuing threats and demanding apologies.

What we do know is that this is one of the deadliest food borne outbreaks that has ever occurred. Quoting Dr. Robert Tauxe, Deputy Director of foodborne, waterborne and environmental diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC): "There has not been such an outbreak before that we know of in the history of public health."

Please be careful. If you live in Europe, follow government advice and avoid raw cucumbers for a while - and raw tomatoes and lettuce as well. Don't even use raw cucumber slices on your eyes or your sunburn!

To your good health!
TSF

ARE U.S. CUCUMBERS SAFE TO EAT?

2011 seems to be the year of the cucumber. In food safety terms, that is. Three hazards have surfaced in cucumbers in just the past two months. Where does that leave us with eating raw cucumbers in the U.S.?

First there was the concern about radiation in cucumbers from the Fukushima area in Japan (see post of May 7). Yes, according to the latest government statistics I found (for 2009), Japan is eligible to export cucumber to the United States. But it is a very small player. Besides, as I said in the earlier blog, a small dose of radionuclides in a cucumber or two is not likely to cause permanent damage to your health. Although yes, pregnant women and young children should be extra careful.

The next cucumber-related safety issue that has surfaced this year is our old friend Salmonella bacteria. In early May there was a recall of cucumbers by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because of Salmonella contamination (see post for May 3). The infective dose for Salmonella bacteria is usually fairly low. Most likely you could just have eaten one of these Salmonella-infected cucumbers, or even a few slices and become ill. But in all, this seems to have been a fairly small outbreak.

Now there is the very frightening E.coli 0104:H4 outbreak in Europe, that appears to have originated in cucumbers exported from two growers in Spain. So is the U.S. importing cucumbers from Spain? The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data I found suggests that Spain is indeed eligible to export cucumbers to the U.S. But do we get them from the two cucumber producers in Spain that seem to be implicated in this outbreak? I don't know. But I am trying to find out.

In the meantime, if you are nervous about it, I would suggest that you buy local wherever possible. Personally, I have not stopped eating raw cucumbers. But until we know more, I check to make sure they are not imported from Spain. And as soon as mine are large enough to eat (if the squirrels don't get them first) I'll eat those.

To your good health!

TSF

ACTION TO STOP THE CUCUMBER-LINKED OUTBREAK

This cucumber-associated outbreak of food borne illnesses in multiple countries in Europe is really frightening, mainly, because of the virulence of the hemorrhagic E. coli involved. A large percentage of people - around three fourths women - are not just having a few miserable days with diarrhea, but actually developing complications of Haemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) and ending up in the hospital. As of today, at least ten have died. There will be more.

But don't panic. Action is being taken all over Europe to stop the outbreak of illnesses. Everywhere, the culprit food (that is, if it's only the Spanish cucumbers) is being withdrawn from the market - Germany, the Czech Republic, Luxemburg, Hungary and elsewhere. National authorities everywhere in Europe are checking what was imported, where it went, and trying to catch every vegetable before any more people eat them. The public is also being advised not to eat them and restaurants and consumers have been told to throw out any they might have bought.

Restrictions have been imposed on the two suspect Spanish cucumber growers, even before conclusive proof is available that the problem started with them. So, there won't be any more coming in from those sources. In parallel with these activities an investigation is ongoing. Interviews are being done with victims, laboratory testing is being performed on actual vegetables (including others, as well as cucumbers), and every point along the distribution line is being checked and examined for possible failures which could have resulted in contamination.

Assuming we have the right culprit vegetable (and that it's not eggplant or tomatoes or lettuce as well), and assuming that there is no other grower anywhere with the same problem, new illnesses should soon stop occurring since the incubation period for this bacterium is usually less than a week.

But then, there is the problem of secondary illnesses(people becoming ill from someone else - usually a family member - who did eat the food), or other indirect routes, as through swimming pool water (see previous post). Some studies have found around 10% of pathogenic E.coli illnesses to be secondary. But a few case studies I looked at had a higher incidence. Given the rarity of this particular E.coli 0104:H4, we don't really know what will happen.

To your good health!
TSF