289617 Tue Jun 18 15:13:00 -0700 2002 8 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1568819 Scary article. Check it out. Link: http://content.health.msn.com/content/article/1671.53311 Tue Jun 18 15:13:00 -0700 2002 0 Alan H 1 1568821 'A new report'? Why don't they list who the lab was and/or who sponsored it? E Coli is everywhere. Its the concentration and the immune system of the consumer that matters. The implication that there are feces in salsas in mexico is annoying to say the least. Tue Jun 18 15:25:19 -0700 2002 1568819 0 Bung 2 1568822 Good point, I'm not going to defend the poor state of our media. I guess you could write to the author if you want more info. Tue Jun 18 15:35:02 -0700 2002 1568821 0 Alan H 2 1568824 Not only that, E.Coli is a bacteria that is normally found in the gut. There are literaly hundreds of strains of E.Coli, the vast majority of which do NOT kill you. Now if they had said the table sauces were contaminated with E.Coli 0157 I'd be really concerned because that is the strain that will kill, and did in San Mateo county last year at a Mexican restaurant. Tue Jun 18 16:25:39 -0700 2002 1568821 0 Gayla 2 1568825 To imply that there is feces in the sauses might be just to say that the restaurant employees and customers do not wash their hands...washing hands has been proven to be #1 preventive objective. Tue Jun 18 16:39:45 -0700 2002 1568821 0 tech lin 2 1568831 You're so right. While I'm all in favor of legitimate precaution, I'm also sick of scare-mongering about food. The other day I bought a chicken at the grocery, one that had previously been frozen. A little bit of liquid escaped from the bag onto the checkout counter, and the cashier FREAKED out. She stopped everything and scrubbed down the counter for about 5 minutes with some kind of anti-bacterial scrub, while loudly explaining to all within earshot why chickens need to be treated like toxic waste. Hello! I was buying that bird to eat! Tue Jun 18 17:32:30 -0700 2002 1568821 0 david 2 1568851 According to the article the work was done by "researchers from the University of Texas-Houston Medical School." The original article is published in the June issue of "Annals of Internal Medicine." The original article may shed some like on the questions below. Wed Jun 19 00:12:31 -0700 2002 1568821 0 Peter Hertzmann 1 1568855 Now could any chowhound go to Mexico and not eat any salsa, guacamole, or uncooked fruit or vegetable? I consider the fresh exciting variety of Mexican cuisine worth the risk of a week on an antibiotic when I get home. Wed Jun 19 09:05:19 -0700 2002 1568819 0 Bride of the Juggler 1 1568886 Yes, the article does imply bad things about people in Mexico, which we chowhounds all know to be silly and a stereotype, but I admit to being smug about the salsa part because people have been telling me you can't get food poisoning from salsa and now I have proof that they are wrong. Two weekends ago, both my husband and I got food poisoning [but fortunately not our 4 year old] from the salsa in a very established and reputable and extremely popular Mexican restaurant in Old Town San Diego. My husband, who was starving, scarfed down lots of salsa and chips before our margaritas and dinner arrived. His illness struck at about 6:30 am the next day and he was not a happy traveler for the next 12 hours. I had a couple of chips with the salsa and then lots of margarita, chips, salsa and dinner and didn't get ill until noon and then wasn't nearly as sick as my spouse. Our small boy, who only ate plain chips and his dinner and part of mine, was fine. Moral: Drink Margaritas with your salsa. Truth be told, I consider myself a fairly well-traveled person who frequents lots of restaurants at home and abroad. The times I've gotten food poisoning, with one exception, were NOT while traveling in Mexico or eating "street food" in Beijing but from well-established restaurants or chains in major US cities. Moral: Avoid chains. Wed Jun 19 18:08:21 -0700 2002 1568819 0 jenn