Search This Blog

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Thailand : E. coli found in imported avocados; bacterial strain still unknown

Via MCOT News :

" Thailand's Department of Medical Sciences has conducted additional tests to determine the strain of E. coli bacteria found to contaminate imported avocados from Spain.

Dr Pipat Yingseri, Secretary-General of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said the Department of Medical Sciences new test results are expected to be known by Monday. He advised the public to buy vegetables and fruit grown in Thailand's north for safety. However, he said Thailand imports small amount of fruit and vegetables from Europe.

Dr Sathaporn Wongcharoen, director-general of the Department of Medical Sciences said the new test will find if the bacteria found is toxic or not and what kind of strain it is. However, he said it is common to find fruit and vegetables contaminated with non-toxic E. coli.

Public Health Ministry, Jurin Laksanawisit said that checkpoints at Suvarnabhumi Airport randomly collected sample of two kilogrammes of avocado to test Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli on June 6. The initial test found E. coli but its strain is still unknown."

No comments:

Post a Comment