Public Health England would like to remember all the plant eaters that they have to wash their fruits and vegetables especially if they are going to be consumed raw. Salads can be the source of an E. coli outbreak that has infected more than 150 people and killed two in the UK.
The infection with the E. coli O157 bug will cause bloody diarrhoea and abdominal pain. It is a rare infection, compared with other food related diseases, but if not treated or looked at as a minor pain can even lead to death. It is thought to come from the rocket leaves transported from the Mediterranean.
Most of the cases registered were from the South West part of England, with 144 people in England, six in Wales, and one in Scotland. From those, 62 needed hospitalization.
People need to start protecting themselves by first washing their hands before handling food and then washing the fruits and vegetables they’ve bought from supermarkets or local stores. Unless a package has a label that says ‘washed and ready to eat’, they need to make sure no pollutants or bacteria from the plants will be brought into the organism.
Plants are not the only carers of E. coli, undercooked meat can also lead to the same infection. Symptoms usually occur after three to four days after being contaminated.
Avoiding the infection is really easy though. People are advised to wash their hands after using the toilet, before and after handling food, and after touching animals. Also, plants should be kept away from the meats, and a different knife and chopping board should be used when handling those two. Meat, especially minced meat need to be cooked thoroughly, so that the bacteria can die.
If all the health measures are taken into consideration before and after cooking or eating any kind of food, there shouldn’t be any worries of intestinal infections.
