Editorial by Dr. Mike Doyle , director of the College's Center for Food Safety and Quality Enhancement in Griffin, Ga., and head of the Department of Food Science and Technology . This bacterium causes more severe illness than the mild diarrhea often associated with the estimated millions of food-associated cases of salmonellosis and Campylobacter enteritis each year. E. coli O157 infection in children can cause kidney failure that leads to severe complications, including death. Handling and eating contaminated poultry have been identified as leading risk factors of Campylobacter infections. Produce a Vehicle Produce has come to the forefront, too, as a vehicle of food-borne illness, with many outbreaks of E. coli O157 infection associated with lettuce, unpasteurized apple juice and vegetable sprouts.
Sprouts can be a microbiologist's nightmare.
The conditions used for growing them are much like those in which E. coli O157 and other harmful bacteria flourish. Eating raw sprouts can be a risky practice. Heat, Proper Cooking Keys to Safety Many of the inherent hazards of foods are associated with raw or undercooked foods. Today's nutrition-conscious consumers are driven to eating foods with mild or no heat treatment. However, even with foods such as poultry that are usually cooked before eating, there is a high prevalence of food-borne disease.