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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Have now added cumcumber to my list of not what to eat!!

36 replies

kri5ty · 31/05/2011 11:28

Wow i have been trying my best to eat healthy after a very bad start, all i could eat was junk food!

And not only do we have enough food to avoid, now we have to deal with killer cucumbers!! I think i will def be avoiding them at all costs!!

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

nunnie · 31/05/2011 11:32

Like cucumbers too much to avoid them, only eat salad and fruit really as it is.

Have they announced to avoid cucumbers due to Ecoli or are you just doing it for precaution? Only ask as I haven't seen the news today.

TheFantasticFixit · 31/05/2011 11:33

Where have you seen that?

To be honest it won't bother me in the slightest - the mere smell has had me rushing for the bathroom since about 4 weeks!

worldgonecrazy · 31/05/2011 11:36

As long as you wash your fruit and veg well before eating there should not be a problem. Ecoli is spread by specks of animal and human faeces so it will be on the surface of the cucumbers.

icravecheese · 31/05/2011 11:37

My hubby (who works in the food industry & usually poo-poo's alot of the eating advice for preg women, much to my annoyance!) didnt buy cucumbers when he did our weekly shop at the weekend because he said he didnt want to risk any of us catching e-coli. I was quite surprised that he has taken the whole cucumber scare very seriuosly....we always peel the skin off our cucumbers anyway, I am assuming e-coli can only live on the skin anyway? Apparently 10+ people have now died in germany from this...and the cucumbers came from spain anyway....my preg brain is slightly confused about it all!

Original poster

kri5ty · 31/05/2011 11:39

Im doing it out of precaution, the food standards agency hasnt been updated since friday, but i read in the paper (i know it can be unreliable) that it has been confirmed in the Uk now, not sure how true this is, but i dont think i want to risk it, not with as quickly as it is spreading!

OP posts:

Original poster

kri5ty · 31/05/2011 11:40

I skin them too, but i have been over paranoid about everything so far and i know i will continue to be! haha

OP posts:

icravecheese · 31/05/2011 11:43

dont worry, I get over-paranoid too about foody things... although I wasnt paranoid about the cucumbers until hubby decided not to buy them... which made me mega paranoid because usually he is so chilled out about stuff!!

Better to be safe than sorry, & they dont actually provide a huge amount of nutrition anyway do they? They're about 95% water, so dont think we'll be missing out on too much by avoiding eating them!!

Beesok · 31/05/2011 11:44

Hey guys, don't mean to add any "panic" but in Germany (where most of the outbreaks are) people are advised to avoid cucumbers, (raw) tomatoes and salad ....I am not going to stop eating them as such at home where I know they have been carefully washed but am thinking of not ordering salads in restaurants etc.
Also i always check on the able for the source of the veg/fruit and will be avoiding spanish ones for the time being....

ZacharyQuack · 31/05/2011 11:45

at cumcumber

nunnie · 31/05/2011 11:47

I have been reading the bcc news site, and it is possibly linked to organic spanish ones, however some places such as Germany buy then re-expport them not sure if this affects the labelling or not.

Might hold off for a while, until homegrown ones are ready.

Original poster

kri5ty · 31/05/2011 11:48

yeh they are just water really arent they but i loveee them lol, i just get a whole one out of the firdge at start munching on it (peeled)... something my boyfriend seems to take great interest in haha

I think i shall just stick to veg not from Spain, i try to buy uK produce anyway :)

OP posts:

icravecheese · 31/05/2011 11:48

Just got back from hols in spain, where my spanish friend told me that standard advice over there for preg ladies is to avoid salad / raw veg etc in restuarants (apparently its the same in france too) - this advice has been around for years over there, not just since 'cucumber-gate'...

I was quite surprised, as we dont ever seem to have had that advice issued in the UK. I wouldnt have even thought to avoid salad in restuarants abroad (certainly never did for previous 2, healthy pregs) but did so this time because we were staying with these spanish friends... so glad I followed her advice now!

nannyl · 31/05/2011 12:01

i think the confirmed UK cases, are from people who have been and consumed cucumbers while they themselves were in Europe.

They say none of the effected cucumbers have ever been sold here in the UK

(and tomato's and lettuces are affect too, but again, none of the affected products have been on sale here in the UK (so they say))

Beesok · 31/05/2011 12:15

icravecheese I think the reason for that has to do with the toxoplasmosis parasite which most people connect with cats but actually it more common to get it from undercooked meat (esp beef) and unwashed salads, veg etc.
In the UK toxo is relatively not so widespread/common as in France for ex. hence there are no "general warnings"

I have always had cats (including rescued stray ones) and sadly am still NOT immune to toxo so am extra careful when eating raw salads out of the house and now with this ecoli thing I probably just won't bother ;)

DomesticGoddess31 · 31/05/2011 12:42

as if we needed another good reason to eat more cake :o

Original poster

kri5ty · 31/05/2011 12:47

DomesticGoddess31 i like it!! haha although for me it will be a multi pack of crisps rather than cake lol

OP posts:

EggyAllenPoe · 31/05/2011 12:50

i would have thought a 'Cumcumber' wouldn't be that appetising anyway...

iskra · 31/05/2011 12:53

I'm eating a peanut butter & cucumber sandwich while I read this.

Original poster

kri5ty · 31/05/2011 12:55

mmmm iskra my latest one is nutella and peanut butter on toast! mmm

OP posts:

silkenladder · 31/05/2011 13:03

I live in Germany and have been reading about this every day in the papers here.

Apparently, peeling the cucumbers is not enough, the EHEC bacteria are inside as well.

EHEC was confirmed in four cucumbers, three from Spain and one from Holland.

We have been advised not to eat raw tomatoes or lettuce and to be extra-careful with kitchen hygiene.

iWILLdothis · 31/05/2011 13:04

argh. not another thing to avoid... i bought 2 lovely cucumbers yesterday for my salad lunches. I've already dropped feta cheese from my salad and mourning the loss....i just can't cope with this! Don't start me on cheese....i've been craving port salut which just about replaced brie, then I read I can't have port salut either...very unsure what to do....some websites say feta & port salut are fine, others say avoid. AAARRRGGGHHH :(

icravecheese · 31/05/2011 13:08

iwilldothis pretty sure feta is fine... I have never stopped it eating it for all 3 of my pregs....am sure I found a brilliant website in my first preg that said feta was good to eat when preg....

Beesok · 31/05/2011 13:12

Feta is fine as long as it's pasteurized :)

munstersmum · 31/05/2011 13:12

Checked the cucumber before putting it in DS's lunchtime sarnie today - clearly labelled Yorkshire Cucumber. Bought from Tesco by DH yesterday who would not have paused for a moment to read a label.

silkenladder · 31/05/2011 13:19

Ok, scrap that. I've just read that the bacteria on the cucumbers are not the same strain of EHEC as the one causing the outbreak. At least 15 people have died, though, so I hope they find out the source soon.

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