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Thailand Finds E. Coli In European Cabbage


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Thailand finds E. coli in European cabbage

BANGKOK, June 11, 2011 (AFP) - Thailand said on Saturday that it had detected E. coli in cabbage imported from Europe and was checking whether it was the lethal strain involved in a killer outbreak in northern Germany.

The country, which had a false alarm about a shipment of European avocados earlier in the week, has urged the public not to panic, noting that there are several types of E. coli.

"We need three to five days to check on the bacteria's strain," said Sathaporn Wongcharoen, director general of the Medical Science Department of the Public Health Ministry.

On Friday Thailand said that E. coli found in avocados a day earlier was not the deadly strain that has swept Europe in recent weeks.

German officials have said they are now confident that sprouts grown at a farm in the north of the country are the source of the highly virulent strain of bacteria that has killed at least 33 and left some 3,000 ill.

All confirmed fatalities, three of which were reported Friday, have been in Germany except for one woman who died in Sweden after visiting Germany.

People in at least 14 countries have also been made ill by the outbreak, most of them having recently visited northern Germany. Symptoms include stomach cramps, diarrhoea, fever and vomiting.

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-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-06-11

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E.coli found in cabbage imported from northern Europe

BANGKOK, June 11 -- E. coli bacteria was found in kohlrabi (commonly known as German turnip) imported from northern Europe, and it will take between three to five days for laboratory tests to determine whether or not the strain is hazardous, a senior public health ministry official announced today.

Dr Sathaporn Wongcharoen, director-general of Medical Sciences Department, said his department had found kohlrabi imported from northern Europe contaminated with E.coli during the laboratory tests, but it was still unknown whether it contained the deadly O104 strain.

The cabbage will be sent to the National Institute of Health for further tests and to determine whether or not the vegetable carries the deadly E.coli O104 and it is believed the final result could be known within three to five days, he said.

He said it is normal for E.coli bacteria to be found in fruits and vegetables as most strains are not deadly and that they could be easily destroyed in foods cooked at temperatures over 70 degrees Celsius.

People should not be panic, but are advised to wash their hands frequently, eat properly cooked foods and use serving spoons, Dr Sathaporn added. (MCOT online news)

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-- TNA 2011-06-11

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Suvarnabhumi steps up measures to tackle E. coli spread

BANGKOK, 11 June 2011 (NNT) – Suvarnabhumi International Airport has beefed up its measure to screen imported fresh food products in the wake of the current new E. coli outbreak in Europe.

Speaking about measures to prevent the new enterohaemorrhagic E. coli bacteria, Suvarnabhumi Airport Spokesperson Wilaiwan Natwilai said the airport has been strictly controlling products imported from European countries, particularly those facing the toxic E. coli spread.

Ms Wilaiwan continued that fresh foods, vegetables and fruits, flown from Europe will be randomly examined in every flight for the bacterial contamination.

In addition, Suvarnabhumi International Airport has also given greater importance to hygiene promotion at the airport. All toilets and pathways are cleaned more frequently while disinfectant sprays have been used to ensure adequate sanitation for passengers.

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-- NNT 2011-06-11 footer_n.gif

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Thailand warned to screen EU tourists, crops

BANGKOK, 11 June 2011 (NNT) – Thai authorities are cautioned to screen European tourists visiting Thailand as well as imported agricultural produce as they might carry E. coli into the country in the wake of the bacteria spread in Europe.

Executive Director of the Thai Trade Centre in London Adisai Dhummakupt stated that his office has been monitoring the E. coli spread and discuss with related units closely. He admitted that the outbreak remains serious while the European Union (EU) cannot curb or find causes of the epidemic.

Mr Adisai noted that Thailand hence must monitor the situation closely, especially tourists travelling from Europe or Thai tourists going to that region, especially Germany where the outbreak is the severest. He said crops imported from the EU must be screened thoroughly.

According to him, Thailand imported 56.9 million US dollars worth of crops from the UK in 2010, including grain and flour, oil seeds and vegetable oil, rubber products, cocoa, aromatic plants and other vegetables.

Mr Adisai added that imports of vegetables alone stood at 9.6 million US dollars. He indicated that the Thai industrial sector and consumers might be affected if the imported vegetables are contaminated with the toxic E. coli strain since some of them are used in the industrial production while some are consumed directly.

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-- NNT 2011-06-11 footer_n.gif

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Oh, the same paranoia of uninstruceted people as in Europe.

Put the tourists in quarantaine for 10 days and may be 20 days more, because the labs are overwhelmed, if (what I scare) not qualified.

Edited by lungmi
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Why is Thailand importing cabbage from Europe?

Because the same reason that EU have banned Vegies form Thailand, full of chemicals that were banned in the west 40 -50 years ago.

How about they do some E-Coli test on the Thai supermarkets Tesco Lotus, Big C etc.

How come I have to buy imported avacardos here? Kiwi's? A decent apple, a decent size orange ? They can all grow here.

I do wonder a little bit though why people don't buy organic Thai cabbage though !

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German turnip sent for E-coli tests: Officials

By The Nation on Sunday

E-coli bacteria has been found in kohlrabi - commonly known as German turnip - imported from northern Europe but it will take three to five days for officials to get lab test results on whether it is the deadly O104 strain, which killed at least 33 and left 3,000 ill in Europe, a senior health official said yesterday.

Head of the Medical Sciences Department Dr Sathaporn Wongcharoen said officials found kohlrabi imported from northern Europe contaminated with E-coli during the lab tests, but it remained unknown if it was the deadly strain.

The cabbage will be sent to the National Institute of Health for further tests and to see if it carried E-coli O104, he said.

The final result could be known within three to five days.

It was normal for E-coli bacteria to be found in fruit and vegetables but most strains were not deadly and could be easily destroyed by cooking vegetables at temperatures over 70 degrees Celsius, he said.

He urged people not to panic, suggesting they wash their hands frequently, eat properly cooked food and use serving spoons.

Thailand had a false alarm last week about a shipment of European avocados. Officials said on Friday that E-coli found on avocados a day earlier was not the deadly O104 strain.

People in at least 14 countries have been made ill by the E-coli O104 bacteria outbreak.

Most of them recently visited northern Germany. Symptoms include cramps, diarrhoea, fever and vomiting.

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-- The Nation 2011-06-12

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Why is Thailand importing cabbage from Europe?

I don't think Thailand is importing cabbage from Europe. The second posting from Webfact is slightly different from the first. There it is written Kholrabi, which makes much more sense.

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