Why don't they tell us the E-coli source so we can avoid it?

[INeedNewShoes]

We're being warned about this current strain of E-coli. It sounds as though they've learned enough about the source to have an idea what it is. Why not tell the public so we can reduce our chance of getting it?

Of particular concern for the elderly, young children and anyone immunocompromised.

plenty of cottage cheese available on ocado

They may have change their procedures since. In a food production factory it could be from an ingredient or from an infected employee.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3114625/amp/How-make-lunchtime-sarnie-s-hands-Britain-s-biggest-sandwich-factory-migrant-workers-help-churn-THREE-MILLION-week.html

Yes i never enjoy pre packed sandwiches anymore. Bought a prawn mayo one from M & S the other day as a treat and it was a bit tasteless. Think it was £4.50 too!

BBC are reporting that it was pre-packaged sandwiches with salad leaves in them (just nipped onto their website to see the weather forecast):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz448dj4x8xo

Sounds right. We do olio collections and boots have recalled all food items with salad in them basically.

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Co op have too.

14 June 2024 Central Coop Various Sandwiches
Central Coop are recalling the following products. If you have collected the below, please discard it and alert any requester that may have collected this item from you.

Coop Vegan Gro Onion Bhaji Sandwich
Coop Mexican Style Bean Cheese Wrap
Coop Ham, Cheese, Pickle Sandwich
Coop Ham & Cheese Wrap
Coop Chicken & Bacon Caesar Wrap
Coop Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato Sandwich

Thanks for posting this. It's reassuring for me at least. I hope too many people haven't had a bad time with this illness.

Full list of product recalls: https://www.food.gov.uk/news-alerts/alert/fsa-prin-30-2024

Avoid anything with salad leaves!

Looks like my hunch of it being related to bagged/ready to eat salad wasn’t far off and good to know that the dairy industry has their reputation in tact too, no thanks to Prof Hugh Pennington!

No marks and Spencer’s products thankfully.😁👍

My prediction was correct

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz448dj4x8xo.amp

These food manufacturers must be getting their salad leaves from somewhere though - surely could be the same ones as for sale in the supermarkets?

Think I will be avoiding it all for a while!

I plough through these bagged salads on a regular basis and have never had a problem. Perhaps I should start rinsing them first.

Rinsing them in water won’t remove ecoli

What does then?

Cooking food. Obviously won’t help with salad.

Would cooking? I’m not sure about the impact on the toxin though.

It being prepacked sandwiches and wraps has surprised me. Could it be in other products too? My little niece has E-Coli at the moment and she's under a year old. I can't see her having eaten a pre packaged sandwich or wrap.

She's also very poorly and has developed kidney failure, is on dialysis, etc. Developed a blood clot, is on blood thinners. Poor thing is covered in tubes. It's bloody awful. All as a result of E-Coli.

People get E coli from all sorts of things - including other people. This 'outbreak' is an unusual amount of cases of an identical strain, but the usual background rate of infection hasn't gone away. I hope your niece recovers soon.

I was 10 months old when I got HUS, presumably from E coli 0157 (they couldn't type the strain that far back). Only longterm problem it left me with was hypertension. Praying your niece has as good an outcome.

Brands affected, Asda, Boots, Co-op, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Amazon fresh, Aldi........

Not surprised that salad is the culprit. A relative of mine once worked for a microbiology lab that did routine testing of food and water for E. coli, salmonella, legionella, etc - basically trying to catch this kind of thing before the infected products hit the shelves. She was horrified at how often salad tested positive - the fact that these outbreaks are rare is only because of how effective the testing is; i.e. not because these kinds of bacteria are rare. It put her off eating salad for life.

If I remember correctly, the toxin is equally as heat sensitive as its bacteria. The E.Coli toxin forming strains such as 0145 and 0157 are known to have low kill temperatures. Hence, the outbreaks are usually from ready to eat foods not from foods that have been undercooked.

It is also a low infective dose so you don’t need much of the bacteria to make you ill. Some people however are naturally more resistant than others and some can carry it and not even know. Following an infection, some people can continue to be positive even though they aren’t symptomatic. We often would have to test previous cases for clearance and it could take a long time occasionally (for food handlers and those working or attending alongside the vulnerable).

To all those who have been affected or are being affected by this in any way, I wish you well. Especially your niece @L4815162342.