Radical measures to control the threat of potentially fatal E. coli 0157 food poisoning are called for in a report to be published today by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. It follows a sharp "jump" in confirmed cases over recent months.
The report, drawn up by a national task force on the E. coli 0157 bacterium put in place by the FSAI, calls for minced meat and related products like hamburgers to have warnings about the risks of improper cooking.
With the number of fatalities increasing globally, such stark measures are already in place in the US - this new strain is different from E. coli bacteria, which can be more frequently found in food products, including water, and is an indicator of contamination by animal or human faeces.
The task force, which included leading food microbiologists, public health specialists and veterinary surgeons, was motivated by a jump from eight (including the death of a child from Co Kildare) in 1996, to 76 cases last year. In 1996, an outbreak in Scotland infected 500 people and 21 elderly people died.
The report calls for a significant strengthening of food safety legislation and for stringent measures to apply at every key stage of the food supply chain. The bacterium is routinely found on farms, with infected dairy and beef cattle being the main reservoir.
The report highlights new controls which should be introduced in abattoirs and meat plants in particular, with highest risk of contamination occurring during slaughter and in processing, especially if meat is minced.
The task force has found that high-risk products such as hamburgers should also contain clear cooking instructions, notably that they should be thoroughly cooked until the juices run clear and "there are no pink areas inside".
It also reiterates the dangers of serving unpasteurised milk and its products, including cheeses, to vulnerable persons such as children, older people, pregnant women and those whose immunity is low. It underlines the risk the bacterium may pose from raw (unwashed) fruit and vegetables, particularly if grown with an application of manure.
The scale of the potential E. coli 0157 problem is highlighted in the report: notably its notorious "low infectious dose". Less than 10 bacterial cells can cause infection by the release of a toxin which in up to 10 per cent of recorded cases leads to kidney failure. Up to 5 per cent of these cases die.
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