E. coli news stories on Newser

Study Finds 48% of Chicken Could Be Tainted by Poop

Kevin Spak — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 08:12:05 CDT

There's a pretty good chance your chicken has been contaminated by poop. Some 120 chickens bought from grocery stores in 10 major cities were tested in a new study, which found that 48% were contaminated by E. coli, an indicator of fecal contamination, the New York Times reports. "Most consumers...

Pink Slime a Symptom of a Darker Disease

Kevin Spak — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:12:57 CDT

Public outcry appears to have essentially killed "pink slime" (or as its producers would prefer you refer to it, "Lean Finely Textured Beef"), and Mark Bittman can't help but find that encouraging—and a little ironic. "The stuff is gross, for sure, but it’s far from the most disgusting meat...

You Don't Want to Know What's on Your Cellphone

Evann Gastaldo — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 07:30:05 CDT

If you’re reading this on your smartphone, you might want to go wash your hands now: A new study out of London finds that one out of six cellphones has fecal matter on it. UK researchers swabbed 390 mobile phones and the British hands that used them, and found that...

Latest Culprit in E. coli Crisis: Egyptian Seeds

Matt Cantor — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:39:14 CDT

A new culprit has emerged in the deadliest E. coli outbreak in recorded history: Egyptian fenugreek seeds. Experts had already tracked the crisis to sprouts ; now, “tracing back is progressing and has thus far shown that fenugreek seeds imported from Egypt either in 2009 and/or 2010 are implicated” in both...

Russia to End Ban on Dutch, Belgian Veggies

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 09:07:37 CDT

Russia is ending a blanket ban on vegetable imports from the European Union put in place over fears of E. coli infection, starting with the Netherlands and Belgium, the nation's top consumer rights watchdog said today. Shipments were allowed to resume today following a 26-day ban intended to prevent an...

Deadly E. Coli Resurfaces in France

Mary Papenfuss — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 04:21:00 CDT

A deadly strain of E. coli that killed 46 people in Germany appears to have resurfaced in France just at a time when hordes of Americans are heading overseas for vacation. The bacteria has landed eight people in Bordeaux hospitals as health officials scramble to locate the source of the...

Arizona Death May Be Linked to European E. Coli

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 14:55:05 CDT

Health officials say the death of an Arizona resident who recently traveled to Germany may be linked to the food-poisoning outbreak in Europe . The man, who died in mid-June, developed a serious E. coli complication that can lead to kidney failure. But officials don't know yet whether he was sickened...

Agriculture's 'Most Disgraceful' Problem: Antibiotics

Mark Russell — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 08:09:46 CDT

Al-Qaeda's attacks on 9/11 killed nearly 3,000 people, completely transforming America's approach to national security. And yet food-borne illnesses kill 5,000 Americans each year and hospitalize 325,000, but there is little interest in improving food safety, writes Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times . Now, however, the...

Germany on E. Coli Source: It Was the Bean Sprouts

Matt Cantor — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 06:25:28 CDT

On Sunday Germany’s E. coli outbreak—which has now killed 29 people—was blamed on bean sprouts ; on Monday it wasn’t . Now, apparently, the sprouts are once again being fingered as the culprit. “People who ate sprouts were nine times more likely to have bloody diarrhea than those who did...