How safe is your food? Do recent outbreaks of E. coli signal an alarming trend?

Last November, Parshva Bavisbi stopped at a Taco Bell in Edison, New Jersey, for dinner. He picked up either a chalupa of a bean burrito--he doesn't remember which. The next day, the 17-year-old felt sick and thought he had a routine stomach bug. He was wrong: 48 hours later, Parshva landed in the hospital with E. coli poisoning.

"It was severe abdominal pain," Parshva told The New York Times. "I've never felt that before."

Parshva was one of at least 71 patrons who fell ill last fall after eating at Taco Bells in four Northeastern states. At first, the source of the E. coli was a mystery. Authorities eventually traced it to shredded iceberg lettuce served at those fast-food restaurants.

The outbreak was the second such scare in just a few months. Late last summer, E. coli from bagged spinach made about 200 people in 26 states sick. Three of them died. The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) temporarily ordered supermarkets nationwide to pull Popeye the Sailor Man's favorite vegetable from their shelves.

A Bad Strain

E. coli is a common type of bacteria that live in the intestines of people and animals. There are hundreds of strains of the bacteria. Most are harmless. "The problem is not having E. coli," said Michael Green, an infectious-disease specialist at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh [Pennsylvania], "It's having the wrong E. coli."

E. coli O157:H7 is one of the bad kinds. Though it poses no threat to animals, when it travels to humans from cattle, pigs, sheep, deer, or goats, it can lead to serious illness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), these bacteria infect about 73,000 Americans and kill about 60 each year.

Contaminated food does not look, taste, or smell abnormal. Symptoms of illness generally do not appear before two or three days. But E. coli produces a powerful toxin (poison) in the human body. This toxin often causes bloody diarrhea and painful abdominal cramps.

While most people recover from the illness without any serious consequences, others can suffer permanent kidney damage. In some cases, kidney failure leads to death. Young children and the elderly are especially vulnerable.

Tainting the Crops

Since E. coli O157:H7 was first identified in 1982, most illnesses have been traced back to undercooked beef. In recent years, however, produce (fruits and vegetables) has surfaced as another leading culprit. According to the FDA, a total of 22 outbreaks of food-borne E. coli poisoning have been linked to lettuce or other leafy greens since 1995.

There are many ways produce can become contaminated from the farm to the dinner table. Wild animals carrying E. coli can track the bacteria into produce fields. Farmers sometimes unknowingly use tainted cow manure to fertilize their crops. Packers, distributors, or grocers who do not practice proper hygiene can also infect produce.

Water is another source of contamination. Cows deposit their manure onto the ground. Heavy rains can drive E. coli-laced soil into rivers, groundwater, and wells. Farmers then use that water to irrigate their crops. When food is not thoroughly cooked, harmful bacteria can survive.

Risks vs. Benefits

Despite the recent produce-related E. coli scares, there is no need for alarm, said Dean Cliver, a professor of food safety at the University of California-Davis. "Outbreaks are still really very rare," he told JS. "If we think of how many salads are eaten daily and how few illnesses there are, we see that the benefits [of fresh produce] far outweigh the risks."

Generally, the news is good. Between 1996 and 2004, the CDC reports, there was a 42 percent decline in illnesses caused by E. coli. Much of that drop, experts say, is due to improvements in the meat industry's inspection process.

Government and industry leaders are now preparing new guidelines to help ensure that vegetables--like meat--will be sale from E. coli and other contaminants.

Meanwhile, back in New Jersey, Parshva was treated with intravenous (into the vein) fluids and painkillers. After a brief hospital stay, he returned to school. But he will never forget what happened after that visit to Taco Bell.

About the FDA

The Food and Drug Administration is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The agency began with a single chemist at the Department of Agriculture in 1862. In 1906, the Pure Food and Drugs Act expanded the agency's mission. It was charged with protecting Americans from foods and drugs that were contaminated or not properly labeled.

Today, the FDA is responsible for the safety of nearly 80 percent of our nation's food supply. Only meat, poultry, and some egg products are not under its supervision. Those food items are controlled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

5 TIPS FOR AVOIDING E. COLI

1 Always wash your hands after you use the toilet and before you eat.

2 Cook all ground beef thoroughly. If you are served an undercooked hamburger at a restaurant, send it back. Also ask for a new bun, plate, and utensils.

3 Wash all fruits and vegetables under running water before you eat them. The only way to kill all E. coli, however, is to cook your food.

4 Be smart in the kitchen. When preparing food, keep raw meat separate from other foods. Wash your hands, cutting board, counters, dishes, knives, and forks with hot, soapy water after they have come in contact with raw meat, spinach, greens, or sprouts.

5 Do not drink unpasteurized juice, milk, or cider.

* Objectives

Students should be able to:

* state, in their own words, what E. coli is, how it is spread, and how certain strains of it are harmful to humans.

* understand the importance of sanitary practices in all stages of growing, transporting, and preparing produce and other foods.

* Background

The most infamous case of multiple poisonings by E. coli O157:H7 occurred in 1993, when hamburgers from Jack in the Box fast-food restaurants sickened hundreds of people and killed four children. The source was traced to a single meat supplier. According to an FDA spokesman, the recent spike in E. coli-laced produce is probably due to better detection and identification. "In reality [the bacteria have] probably always been there," he told JS. "Our ability to connect the dots has just gotten better."

* Critical Thinking

NOTING DETAILS: How can you tell if your food is contaminated by E. coli? (You can't. Contaminated food does not appear abnormal.)

* Activity

SAFETY SAVVY: Have students form small groups to learn more about food safety. A good place to start is www.foodsafety.gov. Have each group come up with a short presentation to share with the rest of the class. Then discuss: What did they learn that they didn't know before? Which practices will they adopt now that they know about them? What advice would they give to friends and family?

STANDARD

SOCIAL STUDIES, GRADES 5-8

* Production, distribution, and consumption: E coli 00157:H7 can be transmitted from animals to humans' food through many channels.

RESOURCES

PRINT

* Isle, Mick, Everything You Need to Know About Food Poisoning (Rosen, 2000). Grades 4-8.

* Latta, Sara L., The Good, the Bad, the Slimy (Enslow, 2006). Grades 5-8.

WEB SITES

* FDA Kids' Site www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/kids

* Kids' World: Food Safety www.agr.state.nc.us/cyber/kidswrld/foodsafe

* Decide whether each sentence is true, false, or an opinion. Write your answer on the blank line provided.

--6. E coli is a type of virus.

--7. Since 1982, most cases of humans made ill by E coli 0157:H7 have been linked to undercooked beef.

--8. Most varieties of E coli are harmful to humans.

--9. The FDA needs to expand its efforts to eliminate food contamination.

--10. Markets that sell meat and fresh produce should help their customers by posting warnings about how to handle food safely.

6. false (a type of bacterial

7. true

8. false (most are harmless)

9. opinion

10. opinion