Expert names ‘excessive threat’ merchandise as E.coli outbreak claims first UK loss of life

An expert has claimed there are several things you should avoid to lessen the risk of joining Brits impacted by the E.coli outbreak.

Yesterday, it was confirmed that a person in England had died who was linked to the ongoing E.coli outbreak, with young women appearing to be most at risk from the disease. Among confirmed outbreak cases, 81% have reported bloody diarrhoea, the UK Health Security Agency stated.

The E.coli cases were “consistent with a nationally distributed food product as the cause of the outbreak.” A high proportion of cases had reported consuming pre-packaged sandwich products during the seven days prior to becoming unwell, UKHSA.

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The hypothesis that sandwiches containing lettuce were the likely main cause of the outbreak was confirmed through multiple different epidemiological studies which showed a statistically significant association between illness and consumption of these products. However, a leading expert has spoken out, and warned Brits of what should be avoided when looking to buy food items in the coming weeks.

Dr Richard Anderson, Head of Learning and Development at the food hygiene experts High Speed Training, has said: “Foods are considered high risk if they support the growth of harmful bacteria, and don’t undergo any treatment prior to cooking that will remove it. Foods that fall under the high risk label include; cooked meat, poultry that is both raw or incorrectly cooked, ready made pies and pastries, shellfish, raw egg products including mayonnaise, dairy and cooked rice.”

The E.coli outbreak has seen more than 60 products recalled, mainly consisting of supermarket sandwiches and salads. The alarm bells were first rung by the FSA and UKHSA earlier this month about the outbreak, but at that stage neither had been able to state exactly what was contaminated.

And now has the items have been moved from the shelves, Dr Anderson shed some light on what could have happened.

He said: “There are a huge number of reasons why a product may be contaminated, and many of them are unrelated to the actual ingredients. This can include issues with supply chains, and contamination within the factory.

“Modern food supply chains can be incredibly intricate and complex, which introduces a lot of opportunities for incidents to occur which can lead to product recalls.

“What is clear is that this outbreak highlights the importance of proper checks, controls and training with regards to food products and food hygiene, because even products without meat can still be affected and unfortunately lead to illness. It’s essential that robust food safety management protocols and HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) systems are in place in businesses that handle food.”

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