Answering Your Questions on E.coli

Flu or Food Poisoning?

However, according to the American Dietetic Association, what very often seems like the flu may actually be a foodborne illness.  In a joint effort with ConAgra, the ADA recently launched a program entitled "Home Food Safety: It's in Your Hands" that stated more than 76 million people are sickened each year by foodborne illness.  The difficulty in determining whether or not you have the flu, according to the report, is that the symptoms of the flu are very similar to food poisoning.
 
 

Reprinted from Food News for Consumers
(Summer Supplement 1993)

Q. To what internal temperature should ground beef be cooked to destroy E.coli?

A. Cook the ground beef to at least 160 F. If possible, use a meat thermometer to check that it’s cooked all the way through. Otherwise, check visually - red meat is done when it’s brown or gray inside. Juices should run clear with no traces of pink.

Q. Is it more risky to eat a rare hamburger than a rare steak or roast?

A. Yes. Undercooked hamburger is more risky because of the kind of handling and preparation hamburger receives. Surface bacteria may be spread throughout the meat during grinding. Also, ground meat is often made with trimmings from several cuts. But this does not mean that we recommend eating other cuts raw or rare either. You should cook ALL meat, poultry and fish to at least 160 F.

Q. What are the symptoms of E.coli food poisoning?

A. Symptoms include severe abdominal cramps, followed by watery diarrhea that often becomes bloody. Victims may also suffer vomiting and nausea, accompanied by low-grade fever. In some persons, particularly children and the elderly, the infection can lead to severe complications, including kidney failure.

Q. How do you prevent illness from this serious form of E.coli?

A. Thorough cooking destroys the E.coli bacteria. In addition, you should follow these general safe food handling tips:

• After shopping, quickly freeze or refrigerate all perishable foods. Never thaw food on the counter or let it sit out of the refrigerator for more than 2 hours. Food should not be off refrigeration over 1 hour in high summer heat (85 F and above).

• Use refrigerated ground meat and patties in 1-2 days; frozen meat and patties in 3-4 months.

• Wash hands, utensils and work areas with hot soapy water after contact with raw meat and meat patties, to avoid cross-contamination. Follow good personal hygiene rules, especially after using the bathroom. Cook hamburgers, other meat patties, meat loaf, meat balls (or any dish made with ground meat) until gray or brown inside, or to an internal temperature of 160 F.

• Serve food with clean plates and utensils.

Q. How can I tell if the ground beef I buy is safe to eat?

A. You can’t just by looking at it or smelling it. That’s why you should always follow the rules mentioned above. If an off-odor is apparent, return it to the store.

Q. Is E.coli a problem only with beef?

A. No. E.coli can appear in raw milk, so only use pasteurized product. Unprocessed apple cider and unchlorinated water can carry the bacteria. And other foods can "pick up" the bacteria from raw meat juices - for example if salad vegetables were chopped on the same cutting board where you had just tenderized steak.

Q. What should I do when eating out in a restaurant or fast food establishment?

A. Send back any meat, poultry or fish product that does not appear thoroughly cooked. Ground meat should be gray or brown in the center. Poultry juices should run clear and fish should "flake" with a fork. All cooked food should be served hot.

Q. Does freezing kill E.coli?

A. No! That’s why it’s important to cook all food thoroughly.

Q. What is USDA doing about the E.coli problem?

A. USDA has embarked on a number of new initiatives at the farm, meat plant, supermarket and consumer level in order to protect the public. For example, USDA is sponsoring research aimed at keeping food animal from harboring the O157 bacteria in their systems, which includes efforts to develop a vaccine against the illness. We are working on improved detection methods to keep the bacteria out of meat plants. We are instituting more stringent time and temperature controls in meat processing plants like those that produce hamburger. We are working closely with state and local public health agencies to increase their effectiveness in avoiding and containing outbreaks, and we will soon require that all raw and partially-cooked meat and poultry products have safe handling instructions on the package. These safe handling directions will cover proper cooling and cooking.

E.coli 0157:H7 At a Glance

The bacteria E.coli 0157:H7, also known just as 0157, is a rare but dangerous type of E.coli. It lives in the intestinal tracts of mammals and man. Some cattle carry the bacteria. It can be transferred from animal to animal, animal to man, from animal to man on food and from person to person through close contact or food.

NOTE: 0157 can survive refrigeration and freezer storage. If present, it can multiply slowly even at 44 F. Thorough cooking to 160 F is the best safeguard against infection.

Food Sources

Undercooked hamburger and roast beef, raw milk, improperly processed cider, contaminated water and mayonnaise and vegetables grown in cow manure have caused outbreaks in this country over the last 10 years. Samples for retail stores have also shown the organism to be present on lamb, pork and poultry samples but no illness has been traced to these foods.

Testing for 0157

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and Agricultural Research Service are working with a number of private research and university groups to develop faster, more accurate testing for this bacteria in meat plants and on food products. Several commercial lab screening tests are currently in evaluation. If approved, these new tests will cut days off the lab tests now available. However, screening tests do not tell for certain whether the bacteria is present, and a true on-site quick test is still very much in the future.

The Illness

0157 is dangerous. It appears that just a few of these bacteria can make you sick. After an incubation period of 4-9 days, the disease normally lasts 4-10 days. Patients may suffer bloody diarrhea, cramps and low-grade fevers.

Complications

Young children, the elderly and infirm may develop complications. Children may develop HUS (hemolytic uremic syndrome) which can cause kidney failure, brain damage, strokes and seizures. A similar problem, TTP (thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura), can cause strokes, a side-effect often seen in the elderly.

Protect Yourself

Generally, if you cook meat, poultry and fish to 160 F - until all pink is gone - you can avoid problems with 0157. Return any undercooked food at a restaurant for further cooking. Don’t drink raw milk. Use only safe, treated water. Wash all fruits and vegetables before eating. While most fresh cider on the market today is probably safe, you may want to take extra precautions if your family includes at-risk persons like the very young, the elderly or people with immune system problems. In that event, buy pasteurized cider OR heat it to 160 F (a slow simmer where steam is starting to rise from the pan) before serving or refrigerating.

Hard cider?

Cider you find in a liquor store is pasteurized. Hard cider from a roadside stand could constitute a slight risk to at-risk persons.