Topic: e-coli

Beef Patties Recalled For Deadly E.Coli; Make Sure You’re Not Eating These

Beef Patties Recalled For Deadly E.Coli; Make Sure You're Not Eating These

If you were thinking about pulling out the grill to cook-out some hamburgers now that spring is here, you might want to rethink that. Almost 17,000 pounds of beef patties have been recalled due to concerns that the meat is contaminated with a potentially deadly strain of E.coli. Pink slime, contaminated chicken and now bacteria-laden beef. When will the meat madness stop? More »

Pink Slime May Be Gross, But Contaminated Chicken Causing Urinary Tract Infections Is Scarier

Pink Slime May Be Gross, But Contaminated Chicken Causing Urinary Tract Infections Is Scarier

If pink slime didn’t gross you out enough, maybe this will. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chicken could be the latest toxic meat. A new study says that all sorts of nasty bacteria are lurking in there, which could be causing all of those lovely urinary tract infections we’ve been suffering from all these years. More »

Beef: It’s What The Government’s Finally Protecting From Illness-Causing E.coli

Beef: It's What The Government's Finally Protecting From Illness-Causing E.coli

When considering the sale of meat that contains illness-causing bacteria, it seems safe to assume that (in the modern post-Jungle era) if it can make us sick, it can’t be sold. But several E.coli outbreaks in recent years go to show: Not everything that can make us sick is adequately regulated and banned for our protection. Or at least, it wasn’t until today.

This is, apparently, not the case. Or at least, not until today. More »

Six Things You Might Not Know About Food Safety, Courtesy of Uncle Sam

Six Things You Might Not Know About Food Safety, Courtesy of Uncle Sam

A few weeks back, German sprouts were found to be the cause of a massive European E. coli outbreak. Today, the FDA advised consumers to avoid Evergreen Produce brand alfalfa sprouts or spicy sprouts because they may be linked to 20 cases of salmonella poisoning in the U.S. It’s enough to make me want to give up raw sprouts for good — one thing I learned during the E. coli outbreak is that even sprout seeds can be contaminated with bacteria, making it just as unsafe to sprout your own at home as it is to eat them out. But sprouts aren’t the only thing that could make you sick this summer, and Uncle Sam’s upping the ante to educate Americans about handling food safely.
More »

How Not to Get E.Coli From Sprouts

How Not to Get E.Coli From Sprouts

Sprouts are such a health foodie staple that they’re almost cliche. A popular addition to salads, sandwiches and stir-fries, raw sprouts are high in enzymes, vitamins, proteins and phytochemicals; low in calories, fat and carbohydrates; easy to grow in home kitchens; and vary wildly in taste (anyone who doesn’t believe sprouts can be tasty has probably only eaten the basic, salad-bar alfalfa & bean variety; try some daikon radish sprouts). They’re also rampant bacteria-mongers. More »

A Dirty Diet Could Boost Your Immune System, But Don’t Stop Washing Your Produce

A Dirty Diet Could Boost Your Immune System, But Don't Stop Washing Your Produce

A new study published in The Quarterly Review of Biology is digging up the dirt on our diets, literally, and surprisingly, researchers are saying there’s not enough of it on our fruits and vegetables. After analyzing 480 cultural practices from around the world, researchers at Cornell University in New York found that those who consumed dirt (not top soil, but deeply dug earth, closer to the level of mud or clay) had protected stomachs against ingested parasites and plant toxins, in addition to higher iron, zinc, and calcium levels. That’s great, but I won’t stop washing my fruit and veg just yet. More »

E.coli Cucumbers Kill 16 In Germany; Here’s How To Reach For Safer Produce

E.coli Cucumbers Kill 16 In Germany; Here's How To Reach For Safer Produce

E.coli has been found in cucumbers in Europe, resulting in 16 fatalities and over 400 reported illnesses in Germany alone. That’s a frighteningly high number, especially for an illness that’s caused by bacteria that isn’t naturally found in fruit and veg at all. As a vegetarian, I usually feel safe from such illnesses — which are usually caused by contaminated meat, fish, or dairy — but this tragic outbreak proves that no one is entirely immune. So how can we protect ourselves? More »

Germ Warfare: 10 Places Household Bacteria Can Ambush You

Germ Warfare: 10 Places Household Bacteria Can Ambush You

Think you don’t live in filth and squalor? Think again. Turns out, when it comes to household germs and bacteria, none of our homes or offices cleans up very nicely. Don’t believe us? Here are ten places where harmful bacteria and toxic germs can hide in your home, and ten serious solutions for killing them (and not with kindness):

1. Kitchen Sink, Drain, and Faucet

The Dirt: The average kitchen sink is dirtier than most bathrooms. Up to 500,000 bacteria per square inch can be found in the drain alone. We may wash our hands after touching raw meat, but sometimes we touch the faucet with those dirty hands and bacteria can linger long after we’ve washed and dried. So don’t ignore the faucet when cleaning your sink. More »

5 Potentially Dangerous Health Myths

5 Potentially Dangerous Health Myths

There’s the one about eating greasy foods giving you acne, when hormones and dead skin cells are to actually blame. There’s the myth that shaving will make you as prickly as a porcupine, when it’s just the angle at which your hairs have been cut that makes them feel thicker after shaving. You won’t get arthritis from cracking your knuckles. And you don’t need to worry about catching warts from frogs (no matter how passionately you kiss them).

Some health myths are simply silly. (Sorry, men with big feet aren’t necessarily well-endowed.) Other health hoaxes are just the stuff of teenage angst. (No, you won’t catch sexually-transmitted diseases from sitting on the locker room toilet seat.) But you do need to worry about medical myths that may be a hazard to your health. Here are five potentially dangerous health fables – and why it’s time for you to stop believing them.

Myth #1: Extreme Diets Work More »

Click for more posts