Foods which are most likely to have been in contact with e coli strain O157
(Reader's Digest, May 1997 from an original article in Redbook).
Although that can certainly be found in the droppings of cattle used for
fertilization in organic farming, so far that hasn't proven to be a problem.
I'm not sure about the rice, but I purchase only organically grown brown
basmatti rice from Arrowhead Mills and hope that if they had a bacteria they
would certainly have the corporate good sense to pull it from the market.
One thing I do, however, to prevent e coli infection in my house is to use
common sense: I wash my hands with warm water and soap after visiting the
"loo." I also WASH in water and soap cucumbers, tomatoes, and other produce
which I bring into the house. Well, warm, not hot, I don't want to burn
myself.
I also wash my plastic cutting board with soap and HOT water before using it
and (I have cats an they have a tendency to step in their box and then onto
any possible surface in the house). Let me chang that, I have three cats
that own us and permit us to live with them. That, at least, is how THEY
view things, entitling them to trod on any surface the want...including my
cutting board.
My melons get the wash and rinse treateatment too. They lie on dirt
possibly contaminated by fertilizer.
The chances of getting an infection from organically-grown foods are
minuscule, but why take chances when a simple washing and rinsing can
virtually eliminate the possibility of e coli infection?
Bev
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