The bacterium Escherichia coli, also known as E coli, is a common bacterium that has been shown to be present in wastewater, foods, and in the intestines of both humans and animals. The E coli bacteria group is a group of bacteria that is large and diverse. In spite of the fact that most strains of E coli are harmless, there are others that can cause illness. A number of types of E coli are capable of causing diarrhoea, while others can lead to urinary tract infections, respiratory illnesses, and pneumonia, as well as other diseases.
The risk of infection by E coli is increased when you consume contaminated food or water – especially raw vegetables and undercooked ground beef. When an adult is in good health, he or she usually recovers from infection with E coli within a week. Kidney failure is a potentially life-threatening condition that is most likely to develop in young children and older adults.
There are a number of ways in which it can be caught:
- A person may develop food poisoning by eating contaminated food (for instance, raw leafy vegetables and undercooked meat). When you are going to eat raw vegetables , including salad leaves, make sure they are washed unless they are pre-prepared and labelled as ‘ready to eat’. The act of washing may reduce the risk of infection, but it will not be able to completely eliminate the risk of infection.
- When you come into contact with the faeces of an infected animal or accidentally touch their faeces, you can get sick.
- When you come into contact with people who have the illness, especially if you do not wash your hands thoroughly after using the toilet or before handling food, you may be exposed to the illness.
- It is dangerous to drink water that has been inadequately treated.
- Playing in contaminated water, such as ponds or streams, is not a good idea.
When businesses operate in the food and drink industry, they will have a BRC Audit undertaken by a company like https://mqmconsulting.co.uk/articles/internal-auditing-as-part-of-the-brc-global-storage-distribution-standard/ to ensure that contamination with these kinds of bacteria do not occur. This helps to keep both staff members and customers safe from food-related illnesses.