AboutCarol Schlitt Expertise I can answer questions on home food safety, sanitation, home food preservation and commercial food safety (HACCP).
Experience I am an Extension educator, nutrition, wellness and food safety. I am a certified HACCP manager and a food safety instructor for the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Organizations International Association for Food Protection, American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (Certified CFCS), National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, Society for Nutrition Education.
Education/Credentials BS - University of Illinois
MS - Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
Question How do you kill this virus? Can you freeze it in a conventional freezer? Or can you cook food at a certain temperature to kill it? Can it be killed?
Answer Hi Carol,]
First E.coli O157:H7 is a bacteria not a virus. The Escherichia coli is a huge bacteria family -- kind of the Smiths or Jones of the bacteria world. We have helpful E. coli strains in our system all the time -- it helps us digest food. This particular strain (O157:H7) is the bad seed of the family. Fortunately, it is not widespread, but it can be found in the feces of animals, including humans.We come in contact with E.coli 0157:H7 when either fecal matter comes in contact with our food. This current spinach outbreak was probably caused by fecal contaminated water used to irrigate the field -- at least that is the current thought.
Like all bacteria, freezing does not kill it. It slows down it's growth but does not kill it. Heating it to above 155 degrees does kill it. That's why the recommendation for ground meats is to cook it to at least 155 degrees (If the whole muscle meat comes in contact with the bacteria it is only on the outside. If the meat is then ground, it is now all the way through -- thus the reason for thorough cooking of ground beef).
So yes, it can be killed -- by cooking.
An excellent resource on E. coli 0157:H7 and other food borne pathogens is the FDA "Bad Bug Book": http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/intro.html Plus if you go to the FDA main page they have the latest information on the Spinach recall and E. coli.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance,
