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'Killer Cucumber' Bug From Spain Hits Britain
Sky News ^ | May 27, 2011 | none stated

Posted on 05/27/2011 6:33:39 PM PDT by Texas Fossil

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Beware the "Organic cucumbers from Spain"

Organic? Does that mean it was grown in manure?

1 posted on 05/27/2011 6:33:41 PM PDT by Texas Fossil
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To: Texas Fossil

We had problems here similarly, didn’t we? That’s what happens when you have illegal aliens, or whomever you legally import, treat your field like they would fields, and many other areas, of their home countries.


2 posted on 05/27/2011 6:36:42 PM PDT by OldNewYork
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To: Texas Fossil

Organic?

Yeah, Organic contamination.


3 posted on 05/27/2011 6:37:53 PM PDT by omega4179
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To: Texas Fossil

Didn’t Paris Hilton have a similar problem with
foreign cucumbers, or am I thinking of Madonna?


4 posted on 05/27/2011 6:39:33 PM PDT by tet68 ( " We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us...." Henry V.)
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To: Texas Fossil
Of course, the Spanish newspapers deny that Spanish cucumbers are the source of E.coli, unless of course "they got contaminated while transported". It would be funny if people hadn't died!

BTW, this is a picture of a Spanish cucumber field, published today in El Pais. I had never seen having to reach up to pick a cucumber.


5 posted on 05/27/2011 6:41:56 PM PDT by Former Fetus
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To: Texas Fossil
cucumbers are coated in wax or cellophane for preservation, this process preserves ALL bacteria, thus washing & rinsing in HOT soapy water with a veggie brush as to get in all the crevices, making sure ALL wax & foreign matter is removed is just plain common sense. ALL bacteria is natural to ANY dirt no matter how it is treated and thus the food needs special care when preparing it for consumption.

Great Big “DUH!”

6 posted on 05/27/2011 6:42:24 PM PDT by patlin ("Knowledge is a powerful source that is 2nd to none but God" ConstitutionallySpeaking 2011)
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To: patlin

Great Big Duuuh!

Yep, it must be a slow day, this was on Drudge.


7 posted on 05/27/2011 6:48:57 PM PDT by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one)
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To: Former Fetus

These appear to be the “Armenian cucumber,” a long, ridged, thin-skinned variety that is supposedly burpless (for persons sensitive to cukes). Personally, I think it’s also flavorless...

Many of the pickers, particularly in El Ejido, are actually not Spaniards but come from various benighted and disease-ridden parts of the ME.

However, the contamination could have come from anywhere. Who knows?


8 posted on 05/27/2011 6:54:28 PM PDT by livius
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To: patlin

Okay but was the e-coli contamination systemic? It’s ok to wash the outside but if the contamination came up through the root system it won’t work.


9 posted on 05/27/2011 6:57:49 PM PDT by SkyDancer (I Believe In The Law Until It Interferes With Justice)
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To: SkyDancer

E-coli does not generate through the root system & it does not bore into the food. If it is present, it is a surface issue. The only way for the bacteria to contaminate the inside of the fruit/verggie is during the cutting process via the cutting mechanism aka peeler/knife.


10 posted on 05/27/2011 7:01:57 PM PDT by patlin ("Knowledge is a powerful source that is 2nd to none but God" ConstitutionallySpeaking 2011)
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To: Former Fetus

The cucumbers are trellised, which is a much cleaner way to grow them.


11 posted on 05/27/2011 7:03:29 PM PDT by Josephat
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To: livius
I agree, they don't look like the cucumbers I used to eat, growing up in Spain!

According to El Pais some Dutch cucumbers have tested positive for E. coli, reinforcing the idea that the cotamination took place in transit.

Once again, when I was growing up in Spain, most of the farm labor came from Morocco and overall they were absolutely ignorant of the most basic hygiene. My grandad hired a family, provided them with housing, and a few months later we found out they stored their food in the bathroom (in the tub) and used the backyard as a latrine!

12 posted on 05/27/2011 7:12:15 PM PDT by Former Fetus
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To: SkyDancer
fyi...fresh produce is our livelihood. I NEVER buy fresh produce that has ANY damage that exposes the interior of the food & I ALWAYS thoroughly wash the food, even when it says pre-washed. I've seen the pre-washing process & believe you me, it IS NOT 100% sanitary. 30+ yrs & counting & we have never gotten sick from eating ANY produce from ANY field in ANY state that we haul out of because we ALWAYS make sure to wash it before eating. Including produce that has been rejected by the USDA inspectors. We're not stupid. They reject it, we're told to get rid of it so we take it home, prepare it properly & save money on our grocery budget. One year we got a group together & processed & froze an entire pallet of asparagus that the USDA inspectors for well known upper midwest grocery chain. I have dozens of stories just like that one that ours & our family & friends freezers were very happy to accommodate.
13 posted on 05/27/2011 7:13:52 PM PDT by patlin ("Knowledge is a powerful source that is 2nd to none but God" ConstitutionallySpeaking 2011)
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To: Josephat

I had never seen that! I can see the advantage, especially at the time of picking them. I live in SC and every summer I feel for the migrants who are bent over the rows of plants, picking cucumbers. I think it must be a relief when they stand up and carry the basket to the collecting trailer. I wonder how long I would be able to do it, before kneeling, almost crawling.


14 posted on 05/27/2011 7:16:41 PM PDT by Former Fetus
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To: patlin

When I’m home I never buy fruit or veggies from any country south of the border. I buy strictly home farmed local or know exactly where it came from. And then too, I’m with you on what you wrote.


15 posted on 05/27/2011 7:20:42 PM PDT by SkyDancer (I Believe In The Law Until It Interferes With Justice)
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To: Former Fetus

Contamination does NOT take place in transit from the supplier to the store, it is done in the picking/packaging process. One small slip of the product into contaminated dirt or handled by contaminated hands exposes the entire lot it comes into contact with. So, if the product is picked and boxed at the same time, contamination is limited to the box. However, like tomatoes & many other veggies, they are picked, placed in temp bins or on conveyors that load the product in a bulk truck, then shipped to the packaging plant where it is crated/boxed for distribution.


16 posted on 05/27/2011 7:21:19 PM PDT by patlin ("Knowledge is a powerful source that is 2nd to none but God" ConstitutionallySpeaking 2011)
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To: patlin

After further research on it you’re right. I stand corrected. It’s all surface contamination.


17 posted on 05/27/2011 7:23:06 PM PDT by SkyDancer (I Believe In The Law Until It Interferes With Justice)
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To: patlin

I did not say that contamination took place in transit, I was just reporting what the Spanish newspapers say about it. Like I said, this finger pointing game would be funny if people weren’t sick and dying!


18 posted on 05/27/2011 7:33:04 PM PDT by Former Fetus
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To: Texas Fossil
Yeah, but what about the tomatoes?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wfm3_BMinhg
19 posted on 05/27/2011 7:34:19 PM PDT by yup2394871293
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To: SkyDancer

I’m in the north, so I eat south of the border produce everyday. I especially like vine ripe tomatoes & green onions which we can only get in season for a very limited time up here.(yes, my garden is planted, can’t wait for mid-summer) Hubby likes to eat grapes going down the road. That south of the border thing is nothing more than political fear mongering. FYI...local doesn’t mean it has not been picked by illegal farmer worker immigrants. They are crawling everywhere up here, especially in MN & IA & the local markets are not what they used to be. One big corporate family with political ties has the monopoly on our local produce stands now. They have literally crushed the family farmer out of business other than the weekly tiny farmers market where it is mostly plants & home baked goods that is sold. The big farm corps start selling corn, etc before the its even in season here. We were not born yesterday. It’s not local product they are selling, but they make it look as if it is.


20 posted on 05/27/2011 7:34:31 PM PDT by patlin ("Knowledge is a powerful source that is 2nd to none but God" ConstitutionallySpeaking 2011)
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