Washing will not get rid of bacteria inside plants

SIMPLY washing fresh fruit and vegetables will guard against the threat of potential contamination with the potentially deadly E.coli virus .

Dr Nicola Holden, of the Invergowrie-based James Hutton Institute, said her research had shown that the bacteria can get inside the tissue of infected plants.

She said: "As the plants grow the bacteria also grows on the surface of the plants but a small proportion can also get inside the plant issue and cannot be washed off."

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Dr Holden explained: "Food-borne illness has traditionally been associated with undercooked meat and eggs. However, we have seen a recent rise in outbreaks associated instead with fresh fruit and vegetables; in particular foods that are eaten raw or lightly cooked, like salad vegetables, fresh fruit and sprouted beans.

"The outbreaks, which are still very unusual, have been caused by bacteria that we are already familiar with, such as E coli 0157 and salmonella, but the surprise was finding the bacteria associated with plants and not animals."

She continued: "The bacteria are able to get from animal sources on to crops through different routes, most likely in irrigation water or sometimes from slurry spraying, while some contamination can also occur during processing and packaging."

Dr Holden said British consumers were unlikely to be at risk as "stringent" checks were in place on all imported foodstuffs.