Beware the cucumbers in EU

[bxny]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/world/europe/31iht-ecoli3 :eek:

[newport dave]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/world/europe/31iht-ecoli3 :eek:

 

 

They're now reporting that the strain of E-Coli on the cucumbers is different to the strain which killed people. Still worrying though. All cucumbers in the UK which came from Spain(source of the outbreak) have been removed from sale.

[Travelanni]

Most of the cases of E.coli have been in Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg and almost all the fatalities have been amongst people whose constitutions were already weakened by age or illness.

This area (Mecklenburg Vorpommern) seems to have escaped up to now. The general advice here is to buy only locally produced salad vegetables, wash them well and strictly observe all the usual rules of personal hygiene. ie handwashing etc. Some restaurants are not serving salad but most are just taking the above precautions.

The situation is serious but does not warrant some of the media hype and certainly not the banning of all salad vegetables as has been suggested.

Please do not let it spoil your visit to our beautiful country. :)

[sansterre]

This is serious. 17 people have died as this strain seems to not respond to antibiotics.

However, we still look forward to our cruise starting next week in Amsterdam, then Hamburg :-)

[UKBayern]

There is no relation with cucumbers anymore, officially it has been ruled out as the cause of this illness. The only thing the victims have in common is that they are women, and are from the Hamburg area or were in the Hamburg area (all cases in other countries have a connection with Hamburg).

 

As Rostocker mentioned, most areas of Germany and Europe are not affected.

[Keith1010]

That's correct. There is no relation with the latest situation and the cucumbers.

 

Keith

[Globaliser]

It's a pity, as Dr Johnson might have been proved a very wise man when he passed on this recipe: Cucumbers should be well sliced, dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown away.

 

It sounds like the latest suspect is bean sprouts, from a specific farm.

[Keith1010]

I just read that the tests they have done on the bean sprouts are inclusive so far. Of course they have more to test.

 

Keith

[Got2Cruise]

The ecoli situation will not "spoil" my visit, but until they have positively identified the cause, I am not eating any raw vegetables, including salads. Since they are saying that this is "super" strain, it makes it all that scary.

[Keith1010]

The ecoli situation will not "spoil" my visit, but until they have positively identified the cause, I am not eating any raw vegetables, including salads. Since they are saying that this is "super" strain, it makes it all that scary.

 

 

They have not yet identified the cause.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43285439/ns/health-food_safety/t/germany-no-proof-sprouts-caused-e-coli-outbreak/

 

Keith

[Got2Cruise]

That's my point. Until they do, I am not going to take any chances. They keep on pointing to vegetables-- tomatoes, cucumbers, bean sprouts. I recall here in the U.S.there was ecoli on bagged spinach. Evidently there must be some sort of connection between those who go sick and the food they ate. Another way to prevent getting it is to wash your hands or use hand sanitizer very frequently.

 

They have not yet identified the cause.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43285439/ns/health-food_safety/t/germany-no-proof-sprouts-caused-e-coli-outbreak/

 

Keith

[Keith1010]

That's my point. Until they do, I am not going to take any chances. They keep on pointing to vegetables-- tomatoes, cucumbers, bean sprouts. I recall here in the U.S.there was ecoli on bagged spinach. Evidently there must be some sort of connection between those who go sick and the food they ate. Another way to prevent getting it is to wash your hands or use hand sanitizer very frequently.

 

Thanks for clarifying.

 

Yes, a while back there was the issue of Spinach in the USA.

 

Keith

[Got2Cruise]

Instead of "guessing", here is what the U.S. Center for Disease Control is recommending to travelers to Northern Germany.

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/outbreak-notice/2011-germany-europe-e-coli.htm

[Lair Bear]

That's my point. Until they do, I am not going to take any chances. They keep on pointing to vegetables-- tomatoes, cucumbers, bean sprouts. I recall here in the U.S.there was ecoli on bagged spinach. Evidently there must be some sort of connection between those who go sick and the food they ate. Another way to prevent getting it is to wash your hands or use hand sanitizer very frequently.

Washing your hands won't do any good when the problem is the food you eat. I wonder what the ship companies do when they replenish their 'fresh vegetables' at all the European ports!!???

There is no way you can prevent that unless you stay home and don't take any chances.

[Got2Cruise]

Washing your hands won't do any good when the problem is the food you eat. I wonder what the ship companies do when they replenish their 'fresh vegetables' at all the European ports!!???

There is no way you can prevent that unless you stay home and don't take any chances.

 

Washing your hands can help if someone you shake hands with has already contacted the germs. And, what are you saying, there are NO precautions to take, in contacting EColi? I rather try to take precautions and hope not to have kidney failure. sorry. It is not a "random" bacteria. You need to contact it from "somewhere".

[Keith1010]

Washing your hands can help if someone you shake hands with has already contacted the germs. And, what are you saying, there are NO precautions to take, in contacting EColi? I rather try to take precautions and hope not to have kidney failure. sorry. It is not a "random" bacteria. You need to contact it from "somewhere".

 

Be selective where you eat although that is not a guarantee.

 

Make sure beef is cooked thoroughly. Do not have rare beef.

 

Wash Vegetables thoroughly including the skin.

 

Wash hands thoroughly.

 

These are some things to do.

 

Keith

[skisteamboat]

It's a pity, as Dr Johnson might have been proved a very wise man when he passed on this recipe: Cucumbers should be well sliced, dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown away.

 

 

Excellent Advice indeed!

 

Of course, I do like them as pickles.;)

 

Cheers

[oceanbabe]

Dear All: We have been listening and reading about the e-coli in Europe. My husband and sister-in-law are so worried that they may want to cancel the cruise. We are also suppose to eat in a 300 yr old brewery in Wismar. I know if we do go, to stay away from salads, vegetables, etc. They now think sprouts, but this is not definite. Handwashing may help. Does the Emerald stock up on food, veg, salads in Copenhagan since that is both stop for going and returning? How do they know if there is any bacteria in what they bring back to ship? Just more questions to make decision in next 2 weeks. Hope no one else dies and final reason given for this outbreak. A newsman on TV actually suggested it might be case of terrorism! Just pointing out what we have heard, it is scarey. Elaine

[Travelanni]

Dear All: We have been listening and reading about the e-coli in Europe. My husband and sister-in-law are so worried that they may want to cancel the cruise. We are also suppose to eat in a 300 yr old brewery in Wismar. I know if we do go, to stay away from salads, vegetables, etc. They now think sprouts, but this is not definite. Handwashing may help. Does the Emerald stock up on food, veg, salads in Copenhagan since that is both stop for going and returning? How do they know if there is any bacteria in what they bring back to ship? Just more questions to make decision in next 2 weeks. Hope no one else dies and final reason given for this outbreak. A newsman on TV actually suggested it might be case of terrorism! Just pointing out what we have heard, it is scarey. Elaine

 

 

This morning, in Germany, 2000 very unfortunate people are sick. Our thoughts are with them and their families. They have one common denominator, they consumed raw salad food in or around the town of Hamburg!

However, 82 million people are still healthy. Most are taking the precautions advised by the authorities:- do not eat RAW salad vegetables; practise strict personal hygene. Hopefully the infections will now decline.

 

It is known that E-coli does not survive cooking so, if you feel that the official warnings are not sufficient, the obvious course is to avoid uncooked food of any kind especially vegetables. I am sure the cruise lines are aware of the fact that many of their passengers will be uneasy but as they often have infection problems of other kinds they will be well prepared.

The cause may never be known as the infected food has probably all been eaten or thrown out by now so there is nothing left to test. Contamination can occur anywhere in the distribution chain between the grower and the consumer which makes tracking even more difficult.

As for terrorism! Someone had to suggest that but it is unlikely. And, in today's age when they have proved that they can hit virtually where and when they want, if we worried about that all the time we would never leave the house.

Please, just take the precautions advised by your own USA health authorities

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/outbreak-notice/2011-germany-europe-e-coli.htm

and do not let this spoil your visit to our beautiful country.

Happy cruising, :)

[Globaliser]

My husband and sister-in-law are so worried that they may want to cancel the cruise. ... Just pointing out what we have heard, it is scarey.

Just pointing out that in the USA, there are something like 17,000 murders per year, or over 5 murders per 100,000 people every year; in Germany there's only about 1 murder per 100,000 people per annum.

 

In the US, about 33,000 people die on the roads each year, which is is something like 12 deaths per 100,000 people; in Germany there's about 5 road deaths per 100,000 people.

 

Both murders and road deaths are facts of life in both countries - indeed in all countries.

 

So why get so hysterically scared as to cancel a cruise simply because of a food poisoning outbreak that's killed a couple of dozen people? Tragic though every death is, I think that your husband and sister-in-law might want to retrieve some sense of perspective about this.

[Got2Cruise]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110610/ap_on_he_me/eu_contaminated_vegetables

 

Hopefully they will figure out how the sprouts became contaminated so that it will not happen again.

[Sauer-kraut]

I have just returned (Jun 9) from a month's travel in Mallorca and Germany. I spent most of that time in Hamburg and the Baltic Coast. (Rerik, Wismar, Warnemunde) and during that time I ate salads as well as purchased vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, in restaurants as well as in our rental house.

 

None of us travelling became ill due to E. coli so if you take just normal precautions there is nothing to worry about. The fish roll vendors at the wharf in Wismar asked if we wanted lettuce on the sandwich, the growers and warehouse handlers have also destroyed most crops which have come under suspiscion.

 

I definately wouldn't cancel nor change travel plans just because of concerns for food contamination. I enjoyed my entire trip, we had really good weather except for a few showers in Warnemunde, temps ranging from mid-50's to 80 and a LOT of sun.