It is hard to imagine lettuce as a potential killer. The crisp leafy vegetable doesn’t conjure up the same salmonella fears as a soggy piece of raw meat, a bacteria-ridden egg or batch of leftovers reheated once too often. Nor should it. In Australia, where stringent quality controls and regulations exist across all primary and fresh produce industries, from producer to consumer, food safety standards are considered world-class. And it is rare for large food poisoning outbreaks to be traced back to a primary Australian supplier. But it can happen. And at least one Queensland researcher believes that, as globalisation increases the imported products entering the market and big business rapidly consumes the humble farm, so the risk of more widespread outbreaks of food-borne illnesses rises. Thomas Tenkate, a senior lecturer in environmental health at Queensland’s University of Technology, says consumer demands have dictated production and distribution methods for food. Demands for ”fresh”, packaged and ready-to-eat consumables means extra handling along the production line, from harvesting to the grocery counter, which increases the risk of contamination. The US learnt this lesson late last year, when fresh bagged spinach infected with E.coli was responsible for a deadly food poisoning outbreak which affected almost 200 people in 26 states. It resulted in 102 people being taken to hospital, and was blamed for at least three deaths. The Sunday Mail, November 18.
Dec 19
