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Spinach that is making the experts turn green with anger
Following the alert regarding fresh spinach infected by the E.coli 0157:H7 bacteria which recently affected 26 American States, the time has come to review the situation. The experts are reminding people of the benefit of irradiating food.
The affair shook North America between mid-August and the beginning of October of this year. In all, 199 people were infected by the E.coli 0157:H7 bacteria after having eaten fresh spinach. Half of them had to be hospitalised. One in eight even suffered from haemolytic uraemic syndrome.
“The precise contamination mechanism is still being examined”, says Dr Maki at Wisconsin University. “The bacterial strain in question was detected in fertiliser produced in four neighbouring Californian farms”.
Dr Maki went on to deplore the fact that irradiation of foods is so strongly rejected by certain groups – in particular “anti-nuclear activists and other groups” – whereas it is recommended by the WHO, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Atlanta CDC. All of which consider, according to Maki, “that irradiation of food at risk could prevent over a million infections and 50,000 hospitalisations in North America. The time has therefore come to go beyond irrational fears and to act to protect food safety”.
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