New danger of ‘ burger bug’ in vegetables

IT is better known as the ‘burger bug’, a killer strain of e.Coli which spreads through uncooked meat.

But a report by Food Standards Scotland now warns that we are at risk of dangerous food poisoning from vegetables.

Flooding in Scotland in recent months presents a risk of the e.Coli O157 bug because it can spread manure from animals into fields of vegetables soon to be harvested.

The food safety watchdog revealed the danger by replicating the process in the laboratory, where it was discovered leeks and potatoes were contaminated with e.Coli even after being commercially washed.

In 2011 an outbreak of e.Coli O157 saw 250 people in the UK struck down by the bug, with one person dying. There are 50,000 cases a year across Britain.

Food Standards Scotland, investigating the risk of contamination by vegetables, found they could pick up e.Coli from flooded fields, animal waste and even from farm workers failing to wash their hands properly or wear gloves after returning to work too soon after a stomach bug.

While most vegetables are cooked, removing the food poisoning bug, e.Coli can spread through a family kitchen while they are being prepared. Washing the vegetables at home does not get rid of the bug, and it thrives in refrigerated vegetables kept at a regular t emperature, such as t hose sold in supermarkets.

Professor Hugh Pennington, emeritus professor of bacteriology at Aberdeen University, said: ‘Outbreaks caused by beef and burgers have helped e.Coli O157 become known as the burger bug. But we are seeing more cases associated with vegetables.

‘Washing them is not enough. The infectious dose of e.Coli is very low, so you only have to consume a handful of bugs.’

He added: ‘Localised flooding can swamp a field where vegetables are growing with manure, particularly where there are cattle near. It is something we need to be aware of at the moment given the flooding we have experienced, and with more likely to come. Fields need to be managed properly.’

Food Standards Scotland simulated what happens when fields are flooded by exposing vegetables to contaminated water.

They found potatoes and leeks still had the bug on them after being professionally brushed and washed and put in storage.

It was discovered that those vegetables with e. Coli on could contaminate the water they were washed in, spreading the bug further.

Alarmingly, those kept refrigerated at a steady temperature, like the vegetables in supermarkets, were most likely to contain e.Coli.

This is likely to have been because bacteria become stressed and die when the temperature fluctuates.

In a summary of the study, Food Standards Scotland said: ‘The results confirmed the importance of workers adopting a good hand-washing technique following a visit to the bathroom and that when gloves were worn there was a lower contamination passed to the vegetables. The study also recommended that surfaces such as flush handles and door latches are cleaned regularly.’

Professor Pennington added: ‘The advice to the public is to buy vegetables from reputable providers.’