Latest E.Coli scare: Getting to the root of the problem
4:19 p.m. Tuesday, September 18, 2007
“When this strain occurs, it is very serious, because many people can get very sick and children can die,” K-State food microbiology professor Daniel Fung said.
Professor Fung has taught at K-State for almost 30 years.
He has spent his life studying E. Coli and other pathogens that get into our food supply.
This year he was awarded the International Association of Food Protection Educator Award.
Professor Fung said no matter if the latest E.Coli outbreak reaches Kansans, consumers should be concerned.
”Every death is too many,” he said.
It isn’t his job to find out what caused this latest recall of Dole’s packaged lettuce. However, he teaches his students where the FDA should start looking.
“Make sure that the manure didn’t go into the field at the same time,” he said. “If you can control the water supply better, then you will have a better chance of controlling the micro-organisms.”
But you don’t have to be a student to learn from Professor Fung. He said there are things you can do to protect your family from food illnesses.
“Never put raw and cooked food next to each other; they will contaminate each other,” he said.
And he recommends you rinse lettuce for at least five minutes, even if the bag says pre-washed.
Professor Fung said even though we have outbreaks of E. Coli, in general he said our food supply is very good.
“99.9999 percent of us are not sick,” he said.
Ultimately, Professor Fung said the solution is good education.
“That’s why we teach a class like this,” he said. “All these students can go out later to tell people to have clean food, clean environment, and hopefully we can solve the problem.”
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