Foods contaminated by salmonella enterica and escherichia coli have been cropping up across the United States with little warning. Spinach, lettuce, peanut butter, hamburger meat and chicken potpies are among the foods that have been affected by these potentially dangerous bacteria. How do they get into our foods? Salmonella enterica, a nasty little rod-shaped bacterium comes from animal waste and escherichia coli, another offender from the same source, get into slaughter houses and food processing plants and from there, into our food. How do you protect yourself? The Centers for Disease Control web site www.cdc.gov has plenty of information about both bugs that will help you ward them off. If you end up with a serious medical problem from one or the other, you will need evidence to sue: that means a trip to the doctor with a specimen for analysis. Salmonella causes two diseases: typhoid and acute gastroenteritis (food poisoning with sometimes deadly consequences). E coli causes bloody diarrhea and occasionally, kidney failure.
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