FOOD safety inspectors have warned that even trace amounts of an E. coli bacteria can post a danger to human health.
The updated guidance from Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has been published today following a joint report by the World Health Organisation and United Nations which urged vigilance in relation to Shiga Toxin-producing E. coli (STEC).
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Professor Norval Strachan, Independent Chief Scientific Adviser for FSS, said: “STEC, or Shiga Toxin-producing E. coli, are a group of different types of E. coli bacteria found in the guts of animals such as cattle and sheep, which can make their way into the food chain via the animals’ faeces.
"Illness caused by STEC can be very serious for young children and older people in particular, and can cause severe disease, and even death. As few as 10 - 100 cells of STEC can cause infection."
Professor Strachan stressed that there had been no recent peak in cases, but that FSS had updated its guidance in line with international recommendations.
He said: “The scientific evidence in this area has been reviewed, including a recent report from the World Health Organisation authored by international scientific experts.
“For these reasons we took the decision to issue this advice as a precautionary approach to ensure consumers, food businesses and local authorities are kept informed.
“There’s no sudden increase in cases of food poisoning, or cause for alarm. People in Scotland should continue to follow good food hygiene practices, such as how to properly prepare, cook and store food and how to avoid cross-contamination.”
A total of 226 STEC food poisoning were reported to Health Protection Scotland in 2017, the most recent year for which figures are available.
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It was down slightly from 244 in 2016, but incidence in Scotland remains higher than in other parts of the UK and Europe.
In August, HPS said this "reinforces the need for the continued and comprehensive application of the wide range of existing control measures embedded in food safety" in Scotland.
In January this year, an outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7 in the US and Canada was traced to contaminated lettuce harvested in California. It sickened more than people in 11 US states, leaving 13 in hospital.
There has been a debate about what level of STEC poses a risk to human health and whether there was a safe threshold or strain.
However, the new advice from FSS follows a report by WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations which concluded that it is "not prudent to regard any STEC strain as being non-pathogenic or not posing a health risk".
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It added: "All STEC strains probably have the potential to cause diarrhoea and to have the potential to cause diarrhoea and be of risk, especially to susceptible individuals.”
The guidelines will be issued to local authorities, the food industry and consumers.
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