Information on E Coli

E coli is a type of bacteria that lives in the digestive tract of humans and animals. It can be found in manure, meat, eggs, cow’s milk, human feces, and fertilizer. But, it is normally not a part of plants or plant foods unless one of those items gets on the food.

You may have stomach flu symptoms (cramps, nausea, vomiting) and think you got the stomach flu from a person. That is possible if the person preparing your food didn’t wash their hands after a bowel movement. You usually don’t pass the cause and symptoms around like a regular flu, you all just happen to be eating the same food.

If you get e coli poisoning from spinach, strawberries, or cantaloupe, it is not inherent in these items. It is from the whipping cream you may be putting on the strawberries or the unwashed fertilizer that is still on the ground fruit, lettuce, or vegetable.

E Coli Prevention

Always wash your produce and hands very well when handling foods. And then, just expect that whenever you buy dairy or animal products, there is always the possibility that you can get a severe stomach ache or flu occasionally. See previous post for info on use of activated charcoal capsules to counteract this problem.

Pasteurization of milk  is only done at 162 degrees for a 20 second and has been proven to not kill all bacteria. You could be drinking e coli, listeria, and other disease-causing bacteria.

If you feel a need to sterilize your water, try adding 12 drops per gallon of a 2% solution of iodine or 1/2 tsp bleach for every 5 gallons of water.  Use a water filter, or let the water come to a full boil for 1 minute.