YOU CAN MAKE THOSE CUCUMBERS SAFER TO EAT

I have just enjoyed a delicious cucumber salad, prepared the way I prefer it: with non-fat yogurt and fresh dill. It was left over from a party on the weekend, but still delicious.

Yes, I am continuing to eat raw cucumbers in spite of that outbreak of "cucumber illness" in Europe, mainly centered in Germany. But I live in North America, not in Europe. True, a couple of Americans returning home from travel to Germany have become ill with similar symptoms, but as far as we know at present, none of the suspect cucumbers from Spain are actually being sold in the U.S. or in Canada.

But I do take some precautions, not just to avoid any pathogenic E.coli, but also those common Salmonella bacteria, and parasites.

First, I buy carefully, not just checking to see how the cucumbers were grown (organic/conventional) but also where they came from. This information should be available. Mandatory "Country-of-Origin" (COOL) for fresh produce went into effect in the U.S. in 2008. If it's not actually on the cucumber, I look for information on the crate.

Secondly, I make sure the cucumbers I pick are firm and the skin is undamaged, which would allow easier entry of contaminants.

Thirdly, once in my home and before I let a knife anywhere near them, I wash the cucumbers well. Unless you are buying cucumbers in a farmers' market, these days most are covered with a layer of wax rather than dust or dirt, but I do it anyway.

Thirdly, I peel the cucumbers. Years ago, I used to eat them with the peel on, but now I remove it - pleasanter to eat with any waxed produce, and safer, although I am aware that I am losing some of the nutritional value.

Will this avoid any dangerous bacteria in my cucumbers, including those deadly E.coli 0104 that are popping up in Europe? No, but it is likely to reduce how many are present in what I eat. Realistically, some may be left in the actual flesh of the cucumber, and so may the toxins they produce.

Let's face it, as I stress in The Safe Food Handbook, raw is always riskier than cooked - including in the case of vegetables such as cucumbers. But at least you can reduce your risks a bit by making some smart decisions and actions.

To your good health!
TSF

THOSE OTHER BACTERIA IN YOUR MEAT AND POULTRY

On the whole, the meat-eating public in America seems to have taken the recent bad news rather well - that there is likely to be dangerous Staph bacteria in about half of the meat or poultry they buy. Although, I did notice more buyers at the fish than the meat counter today at my favorite store. Maybe just my imagination. (By the way, I bought fish for dinner - wild, not farmed and it was delicious).

But everyone seems to be forgetting all the other studies of bacteria in U.S. meat and poultry and acting as though this was the first time disease-causing bacteria - or, Staph, had been found. Such other research has usually concluded that the large majority of U.S. meat carries at least some disease-causing bacteria. And naturally, the industry has always questioned the findings - just as the American Meat Institute did this month.

For instance, take the study by Consumer Reports of bacteria in chicken in late 2006. The methodology used seems to be very similar to the most recently reported one: taking samples of raw poultry sold in stores. Except this study was larger and covered 23 states. It concluded that 83 percent of the 525 chickens it tested were infected with Salmonella enteritidis, Campylobacter jejeuni, Listeria monocytogenes - or, Staphylococcus aureus (the recent headliner) bacteria.

In other words, bacteria in your meat or poultry is nothing new. Some of these bacteria - or their toxins - are much more resistant to freezing and heat than others. To my mind, what was most frightening about the recent study's findings is not the percentage of meat found to contain Staph, but that such a high percentage of the Staph - which can produce toxins that aren't affected by cooking - are resistant to many antibiotics.

TSF

SYMPTOMS OF STAPH FOOD POISONING

With all this news about drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in U.S. meat, everyone has been asking me about the symptoms of staph food poisoning. Typically, they are: nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, stomach cramps, diarrhea - in other words, the usual ones for bacterial food poisoning. The symptoms usually start pretty soon after eating the tainted food. Some people also have severe headaches and a mild fever and muscle cramps. In certain serious cases blood pressure and pulse rate can also be affected.

Most people who are ill will start to feel OK in a couple of days, though it can take a bit longer. If you are unlucky enough to get a hefty dose of the B type of Staph enterotoxin (the most vicious, but not very common) you have about a 50% chance of ending up in hospital. But death only occurs in rare cases. When it does, it almost always involves young children, or very unhealthy or elderly people.

TSF