HACCPEUROPA – Full Article
A novel strain of E. coli bacteria caused a serious outbreak of foodborne illness focused in Germany in 2011. In all, 3,950 people were affected and 53 died, including 51 in Germany. Authorities have identified vegetable sprouts as the source.
The recent outbreaks of food poisoning due to contamination of vegetables by dangerous strains of E. coli raised the concerns and questions about E. coli transmission strategies.
E. coli is most at home in the warm, moist, nutrient-rich environment found in the gastrointestinal tract of warm-blooded animals. But to disperse from one host to another these bacteria must get out into the world. There is evidence that some E. coli can survive for several weeks outside the host, and even grow in water or soil. But it is on plant matter that E. coli colonisation has become a concern, as although most types of E. coli are harmless, the presence of pathogenic strains on fruit and vegetables presents a food safety risk.
E. coli strains have adopted slightly different transmission strategies, with some being better adapted to live on plants than others.
FoodWorld 