HOW DID SPANISH CUCUMBERS BECOME CONTAMINATED?

At the moment there seems to be a distinct possibility that the European Union could fall apart over cucumbers. I am not serious, of course, but the current E.coli contamination of cucumbers from Spain is certainly creating some tensions. Germany is blaming Spain for sending them deadly cucumbers. The Spanish authorities are saying "it's not us" and "this isn't our kind of bacteria." There are even some reports - which may not be true -that a source of cucumbers in the Netherlands is also involved. The Dutch authorities are denying any connection.

The bottom line: we don't know yet at what point in time or even in which country the bacteria got into the culprit cucumbers. Normally, in the case of a whole (that is, not cut up) vegetable such as a cucumber, one would suspect contamination at the farm level. It could be that the organic fertilizer was not properly treated, that the water used in irrigation was contaminated, or that the bacteria were in the soil. Of course, they could also have entered during washing (from contaminated water) or packing or transportation.

One argument that in my opinion does not hold much water is that of the agriculture minister of Spain, who is basically saying that because the strain of E.coli involved is very rare in Spain, the contamination could not have originated there. Just a moment - a strain can be rare and then suddenly it is everywhere. With microorganisms such as bacteria it happens all the time.

The culprit cucumber shipment has been destroyed and investigation is ongoing. But it could take weeks, even months, to get all the answers. But one thing we do know is that at some point the bacteria originated in animal feces. This kind of enterohemorrhagic E.coli can come from farm animals such as cattle, sheep and pigs. Wild animals roaming the fields such as rabbits may also carry it. They would not show symptoms of disease, but would shed it in their feces.

UPDATE: This was a misidentification. Cucumbers were later eliminated as the suspect. Considerable hardship resulted for innocent farmers all over Europe, and especially in Spain.

To your good health!
TSF

E.COLI CONTAMINATED CUCUMBERS CAUSE ILLNESSES IN EUROPE

There has been an outbreak of deadly foodborne bacteria in the European food market. It's one of the most dangerous E.coli - a bacteria which we usually associate with meat. And, the culprit food? Those innocent-looking cucumbers - organic ones. On May 26, the European Commission triggered its Rapid Alert System, which is does not happen very often.

It seems that the cucumbers originated in provinces of Almeria and Malaga in Spain and were exported. Many of the illnesses have occurred in Germany. Spain is one of Germany's largest suppliers of cucumbers (accounting for about 40% of all cucumbers imported). As of today, probably at least ten Germans have died of the infection, and hundreds are seriously ill with Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS). Not everyone who gets a case of E.coli-caused foodborne illness will get complications of HUS. Maybe one out of ten, or even less. Usually it will develop in people who are weaker - such as children and the elderly. HUS affects the kidneys, other body organs and sometimes even the brain. It requires hospitalization, and can be fatal. I should know. I almost died of it - although not from these cucumbers.

These cases of cucumber-related foodborne illness have also been reported in Sweden, Denmark, Britain, Netherlands, many of them among people who had travelled to Germany. People in other European countries which import cucumbers, such as Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Luxemburg, are also becoming very nervous. Oddly, no illnesses have been reported in Spain. (Send your deadly food overseas!). There is also a possibility that lettuce, and maybe tomatoes may be contaminated as well.

My advice if you live in one of the countries that imports cucumbers from Spain: toss out any still in your home. If you have already eaten some of these raw cucumbers recently, don't panic. It is very unlikely that every cucumber will carry enough bacteria to make you ill. But watch out for symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, weakness, stomach cramps. If you do become ill and don't get better in a few days, and particularly if you have bloody diarrhea, go and see your doctor.

UPDATE: Cucumbers were mistakenly identified as the culprit food by the German investigators, and too quickly announced to the public by the officials. It turned out to be locally grown sprouts.

To your good health!

TSF

WHAT HAPPENS TO RECALLED FOOD PRODUCTS?

One of the great mysteries in our food supply is what food companies do with the products they so-called "voluntarily" recall (a note of sarcasm here - read: "That the FDA or USDA makes them recall."). I have heard and read all kinds of stories, and more-of-less reliable reports: it is buried, it is shipped overseas, it is used as fertilizer, it goes into animal feed (including pet food)...and it is recycled - to us.

But before I go any further, I want to say that there are some very ethical food companies that are truly concerned about their clients' welfare and make double sure that any "bad" products of theirs that have unfortunately got into the food supply, will never get in again. I am sure that the owner of the clover sprouts company that I spoke to the other day falls into this category. So do some others.

However... there are also the other kind. Their thinking seems to go more or less like this: "This recall is costing us a bundle. What we need to do is find a way to reduce the costs. Maybe we can just send these returned products back to customers and no one - including the FDA and the USDA - will be any the wiser. All we need to do is just repackage them, with a different label and/or different code, and off they go. Easy... "

Impossible? Not at all. It happens. If you read my recalls alerts about a year ago, you would have seen that a California nut distributor recycled its potentially contaminated and recalled almonds under a different (and very healthy-sounding) brand name - and, sent them right back into the marketplace. And today, well, another instance. This one was caught by U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA/FSIS), which is charged with the safety of our meat products in the United States. As a result of customer complaints about smelly and off-color meat products (note..not routine inspection) it found that One Great Burger, of Elizabeth, N.J., had repackaged and recoded their returned burgers and

sent them out for further distribution to institutional customers. Yummy....What's this about a "great burger"?

Also, you can bet that for all the cases caught, there are hundreds of others that slip through the net.

TSF
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P.S. ON FOOD RECALLS

In the years I have been following food product recalls in the US, I have learned a few things. Here are five that may surprise you:

• The recalling food company is often not the one guilty of contaminating the food being recalled. They could be an innocent victim. The contaminant could have entered from their ingredient supplier, at their packer's, or during transport. Or, they could simply be a distributor or retailer, who bought bad food products, thinking they were safe.

• You cannot assume that the product being recalled is always the right one - that is, the food that has caused an outbreak of illnesses. Mistakes happen and trace-back is not that easy. Strawberries have been recalled, when it was really raspberries that were contaminated, tomatoes recalled instead of peppers, and more. Just keep your fingers crossed.

• Many recalls start small and expand, so the safest approach is to leave a wide margin around the food that is recalled for a while. That is, if peanut products are being recalled by one company, avoid all foods containing peanut products for a while to allow the FDA to do more testing. If certain alfalfa sprouts are being recalled, avoid eating any for a while until you hear more, as the problem could be in the seeds distributed to many growers. If three cheeses made by a cheese maker are being recalled, avoid the other five they make until the FDA does more testing in case the problem is contaminated equipment or something else they all share. And so on.

• Many recalls are a case of "too little too late." It is not unusual for the "Best-by" date to have expired by the time the recall is announced. That is, we have already eaten the food. So think back on what you ate - not just what is still sitting in your refrigerator or cupboard. Of course, this is even more important if you are ill.

• Many recalls go on for a long time, sometimes in a type of start, stop and start-up again pattern, as more testing is done (see the Alert column on this blog for a 6 mos. recall by Fresh Express, and remember the peanut product and pistachio recalls that went on even longer). So don't assume it will be over in a day or so. We have a complicated food system.

TSF