E. Coli information for preppers

------------------------------------------------- Revised 2/1/21
(C) Copyright  2012-2021 by
HappyPreppers.com. All rights reserved. The site happily targets concerned
citizens who are self-reliant survivalists, preppers and homesteaders with original content on survival following
societal collapse. You may link to our site, but
you may NOT reproduce any part of our content, or store our
content in any retrieval system to represent it as your own. Further, you may not transmit content in any other
form or by any means, including (but not limited to) electronic, photocopy, mechanical, or recording without
written consent. HappyPreppers.com makes no warranties.

HappyPreppers.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising
program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to
amazon.com, amazonsupply.com, or myhabit.com. Amazon is a great place to buy emergency supplies. In other
words, we recommend prepping gear sold on
Amazon. It's a great place to shop.

Get prepared! Read more emergency preparedness information on our home page.

This
article on E-coli has been archived by waybackmachine.org and saved as many as 15 times between
March 21, 2016 and Nov. 24, 2018. This helps protect our copyright.


* Products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. This information is intended for
your general knowledge only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment for specific
medical conditions. Never disregard or delay in seeking medical advice when available. For any health or dietary
matter, consult your physician


Do NOT copy. Linking is okay.

sitemap
privacy policy
E. coli toy
How to avoid E. Coli food poisoning
Thermal bag
Prepping site for survivalists + preppers
Big Berkey Water filtration System
Oregano Essential Oil by Plant Therapy
Vital Oxide
Frontier
Frontier Pro
Top ranking prepper Web site
nine reasons to love a Big Berkey
Amazon Batteries
Water test kit
bacteria in water test
Food Poisoning
How preppers can avoid E. Coli food poisoning

Preppers can avoid foodborne illness...
It's important for preppers to know how to prevent E. Coli food
poisoning every day and not just in an emergency. The best
way to avoid E. Coli food poisoning is to avoid cross
contamination, but there are many other ways preppers can
avoid food-borne illness and the accompanying abdominal pain
with nausea and vomiting

Take special note on how to avoid E. Coli food poisoning and
how to treat E. coli with the tips below...

How to Avoid E.Coli Food Poisoning
Lurking in the intestines of people and animals is a bacteria:
Escherichia Coli (better known as E. Coli). Some strains of the
dreaded E. Coli bacteria cause severe diarrhea, abdominal pain
and fever. E. Coli is food poisoning, but E. Coli also can be
found in water ~
E. Coli was found in the Texas floodwaters!

How does a person get E. Coli food poisoning? The answer is
appalling. It's usually as a result of fecal-oral contamination. In
other words, it's a result of ingesting small quantities of human
or animal feces from food or water. This thought will have you
thinking more about the importance of that familiar sign you
see in restaurants: "Employees must wash hands!"

Here's how to prevent E. Coli from making you sick:

#1: Wash hands frequently.
The best way to avoid E. Coli is to avoid cross-contamination
and that means you must wash your hands frequently and
sanitizes surfaces You can handle food safely starting by
washing your hands the way employees at restaurants are
supposed to do. Simple and effective, keeping your hands clean
in the kitchen will minimize spread of food borne illness.

  • Always wash hands before food preparation.
  • using toilet
  • changing diapers
  • handling animals (yes, even your dog or cat)
  • Using the toilet

#2: Use a water filter daily, not just camping.
Preppers don't often realize that it's not just the food but the
water that can cause E. Coli food poisoning. Uncooked fruits
and vegetables washed with tainted water can wreak havoc on
your intestines. Thankfully, getting E. Coli through water is
highly preventable. For starters, you can filter your water. A
filter doesn't kill the E. coli bacteria, but it traps it.

Another important reason to have a water filter is that if you
become sick you must stay hydrated. That's because E. coli
usually causes diarrhea*.
    -------------------------------
    * NOTE: Don't use anti-diarrheal medicines for E. coli.
    These kinds of medicines can slow down your intestinal
    tract. Most people recover from E. coli in about 5-10 days
    without antibiotics either.

  • Aquamira Frontier Water Filter. The Aquamira Frontier
    emergency water filter system filters up to 30 gallons of
    water. Aquamira Frontier traps omore than 99.9% of
    harmful Cryptosporidium, Giardia and other pathogens,
    including waterborne insect larvae, and E. coli.

  • Big Berkey. The Big Berkey water filtration system,
    pictured slightly top right removes pathogenic bacteria,
    cysts and parasites entirely and extracts harmful chemicals
    such as herbicides, pesticides, VOCs, organic solvents,
    radon 222 and trihalomethanes. It also reduces nitrates,
    nitrites and unhealthy minerals such as lead and mercury.
    This system is so powerful it can remove food coloring from
    water without removing the beneficial minerals your body
    needs.

  • Lifestraw. Lifestraw water filters come in many sizes and
    varieties for emergencies. Lifestraw surpasses rigorous
    standards for water filtration, adhering to EPA guidelines
    for E. coli, Giardia and Cryptospordium oocysts.

#3: Get a water test kit.
Having a water test kit handy is a good way to avoid E. coli. Did
you know E. coli can get in the public tap water? Finding traces
of E. coli bacteria in drinking water isn't all that uncommon:


  • Montreal, Canada E. coli. Boucherville had a boil-water
    advisory in May 2017 because of E. coli in the water.

It's good to have a water filter for everyday use to get rid of
chlorine,
avoid fluoride in the water, or get rid of the lead. A big
Berkey is good for emergencies to ensure you always have
potable water. Equally important is to check your water
regularly for contaminants and bacteria. Avoid E. coli by testing
your water!

Did you know you can test your water without sending it to a
laboratory? Before you take your next sip of water know that
the
First Alert Drinking water test kit can help you test your
water for bacteria, lead, pesticides, nitrites/nitrates, chlorine,
hardness, and pH. Right now save 25%.

  • Bacteria: Strains of E. coli can cause serious illness or
    death.

  • Lead: Causes developmental harm, neurological damage,
    and kidney damage.

  • Pesticides: From agricultural uses, linked to increased
    cancer rates.

  • Nitrates/nitrites: From fertilizers and animal waste,
    causes developmental problems.

  • Chlorine: By-products can increase cancer risk and cause
    bad taste and odor.

  • Hardness: Causes lime scale and higher detergent use.

  • pH: Can cause heavy metal (such as lead) leaching and
    plumbing damage.

#4: Avoid cross contamination.
Everytime you touch a surface, then you risk cross
contamination with another surface. That's why it's important to
use bleach or
Steramine tablets, pictured right, to help avoid
cross contamination on your kitchen surfaces to helpy ou avoid
Ecoli.  Just one bottle of 150 Steramine Sanitizing Tablets will
help you make 150 gallons of cleaning solution (1 tablet per
gallon of water).

  • Keep raw foods separate. Raw meat should always have
    a separate cutting board from your fruits and vegetables.

  • Clean cutting boards. If you don't have a dishwasher
    available, you can boil water to help sterilize your cutting
    boards, along with soapy water, or use bleach or
    Stearamine tablets.

  • Keep utensils clean. Keep utensils separate, especially
    knives, to avoid cross contamination. Use hot soapy water
    as a quick and easy solution to the problem. Again, if you
    don't have access to running water, you should boil your
    water and use bleach.

  • Glisten Dishwasher Magic. As an effective disinfectant
    against Eschericha Coli (E. Coli), Glisten Dishwasher Magic
    is also effective against Salmonella Choleraesus. The
    product intensively removes lime, rust, grease, and other
    build-up that affects your dishwasher's cleaning
    effectiveness over time. Unlike other machine cleaners,
    however, Glisten cleans, disinfects and removes germs
    from even the hidden areas. Best of all Glsten improves
    the cleaning performance of your dishwasher, and is safe
    for plumbing and septic systems.

#5: Know where E. Coli hides!
E. coli is hiding in food and water. You can also get the
infection by swallowing water in a swimming pool contaminated
with human waste.

Where does E. Coli hide?
The list is numerous, but has been found in the following
sources:
  • Alfalfa sprouts
  • Animals, particularly cows, sheep and goats
  • Beef Another common way to get E. Coli is from tainted
    ground beef. It happens in the slaughtering process, but
    even if you don't cook with ground beef, you can get it
    from water and other sources.
  • celery
  • Contaminated water (Get a Berkey pictured right)
  • Cookie dough
  • Cutting boards
  • Dry cured salami
  • Frozen pizza
  • Lettuce
  • Outdoor water sources  (lakes, ponds and streams)
  • Petting farms and zoos.
  • Raw fruits and vegetables
  • Raw milk
  • Spinach
  • Soft cheeses made from raw milk
  • Swimming pools, including kiddie pools with fecal matter
  • Undercooked ground beef, rarer roast beef
  • Water parks
  • Well water
  • Wooden pallets. This one is surprising, but a survey that
    found E. coli, Listeria and Salmonella grow on wooden
    pallets.

#6: Learn basic principles of food safety and
handling.
To help avoid food poisoning and prevent infection, handle food
safely. Take proper precaution in the kitchen. Cook meat well,
wash fruits and vegetables before eating or cooking them, and
avoid unpasteurized milk and juices.


  • Avoid unpasteurized milk. E. Coli bacteria is present on a
    cow's udder and equipment. Choose pasteurized milk!

  • Protect food and food surfaces from flies. The flies will
    spread E.coli through their feet. Use fly covers to help keep
    your food protected. Flies also can spread cholera,
    Salmonella, and typhoid.

Proper ways to store your food...
Best practices for cooking, reheating and defrosting foods:
  • Don't leave food on the counter to defrost.
  • Travel with frozen foods in a thermal bag.
  • Keep hot foods hot, cold foods cold.

To keep hot foods hot, remember to...
  1. Cook foods, properly and thoroughly.
  2. Get a candy or meat thermometer to help you confirm food
    is at the proper temperature.

To keep cold foods cold, generally, keep food out of the danger
zone ~ don't leave food out too long from the refrigerator.
  1. Don't leave food out for more than 2 hours. If it's really hot
    outside (90 degrees Fahrenheit or more), don't go longer
    than one-hour unrefrigerated.
  2. Use a thermal bag. As you transport food from grocery
    store to your kitchen, keep foods in a thermal bag.
  3. Put sensitive foods in the front seat. Turn on the air
    conditioning in your car on hot days and keep food in
    transport in the front seat with you, instead of in the trunk.
  4. Do food shopping after the errands. Shop last, so that your
    other errands don't cause food to sit out unnecessarily.

#7: Know bottled water could become tainted with
E. coli bacteria.
It's true that even bottled water could contain E. coli. Proof
positive that your
bottled water may be tainted with E. Coli
comes from Niagra Bottling, who issued a voluntary recall June
20, 2015. E. coli bacteria is of particular concern to people who
have a compromised immune system.

The following waters were recalled for the E. Coli scare:

If you think that's scary, see the other
bottled water warnings.

#8: Look to essential oils.
There are several essential oils that can help you battle the
problem of E. coli. Here's a list of essential oils effective
against E. coli:

  • bergamot ~ Bergamot oil can help mitigate E. Coli. In
    fact, bergamot oil was found most effective against E. coli
    in a study of lemon, orange and bergamot essential oils.
    ergamot essential oil can help in the treatment of
    intestinal worms which may develop from malnutrition.
    Bergamot oil effective kills such parasitic worms and
    promotes a healthy digestive tract.


  • Thyme oil ~ Both thyme oil and clove oil have
    antimicrobial activity against E. coli, according to an
    abstract published in the U.S. National Library of Medicine,
    National Institutes of Health.

  • Sweet Orange Essential oil ~  An antimicrobial, the U.S.  
    National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health
    found antimicrobial activity of sweet orange essential oil
    against three micro-organisms (Staphylococcus aureus,
    Listeria monocytogens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). As
    well, sweet orange essential oil can help with E. coli.


    An active ingredient of oregano essential oil is carvacrol a
    substance that inhibits the growth of bacteria and can help
    the immune system take action against viruses, fungi and
    parasites. Carvacrol is effective against E. coli as well as a
    variety of bacterial infections:
  • candida albicans (yeast infection)
  • salmonella
  • giardia
  • listeria

#9: Use a proper disinfectant, around the sick.
In addition to bleach or Stearamine, you can keep your home
clean with appropriate disinfectants, especially if one member
of your household is ill.

Reaching for that bottle of Windex to keep your home
Coronavirus clean? Ammonia, an ingredient of Windex, doesn't
kill germs, and it also can't disinfect against viruses, though it
is a disinfectant for some kinds of bacteria like E. Coli.

  • Clorox Germicidal wipes. EPA-registered to kill C, difficile
    spores in 3 minutes, Clorox germicidal wipes are 35% off.
    Germicidal cleaning wipes are a must have for the next
    pandemic. It's good to stock up on the stuff the hospital's
    use and this is the real deal.

  • Vital Oxide Heavy Duty Odor eliminator. Vital Oxide, also
    pictured right, kills harmful bacteria and is proven effective
    against H1N1 Influenza Virus, MRSA (superbug), E-Coli,
    Norovirus, and Legionella pneumophilia.

  • Protex One Step Disinfectant. One-step disinfectant.
    Protex One Step disinfectant spray, pictured right is a
    powerful one-step disinfectant effective against a broad
    spectrum of pathogens, including MRSA, HIV, Staph and
    many others. Useful in disinfecting ultrasound transducers,
    probes, mammography compressor plates and other hard
    nonporous, non-surgical surfaces. This powerful one-step
    disinfectant is an EPA approved, one-step spray that
    effectively kills a wide range of bacteria, viruses.

What is E. coli?
You may not want it in your body, but E. Coli lives in your gut
right now! No worries, though, because the E. Coli in your body
is there to help you digest food. The problem is when it gets
outside of your gut. That's when it causes sickness and disease.

E. Coli is diverse group of bacteria includes both harmless and
pathogenic strains.  The harmful and pathogenic E. Coli can
cause:
  • severe abdominal pain
  • bloody diarrhea ~ dysentary (infection of the intestines
    resulting in severe diarrhea with the presence of blood and
    mucus in the feces)
  • vomiting
  • kidney failure (the potentially fatal  kidney failure is called
    Heolytic-uremic Syndrome).
  • pneumonia
  • respiratory illness,
  • urinary tract infections (including a bladder infection)
  • and even death

Below WebMD.com shares some simple tips on how to prevent
food poisoning from E. Coli bacteria:
Steramine tablets for disinfecting
Germicidal wipes Deal
One step disinfectant
Prepper Deal Alerts Check
our
daily deals for prepping
gear and food storage.
Glisten Dishwasher Magic
Colloidal silver 500 PPM
Employees must wash hands sign
Ecoli
Fly covers
Big Berkey Water filtration System
how to NOT get the flu (prepper style)
How to control diarrheal symptoms
Prepper's TO DO list
Survival Psychology
Five Military Survival Skills
Are fish antibiotics safe for humans?
Prepper Toilets
How to clean up vomit
Epsom salt uses in prepping
Survival Hygiene Kits
Emergency heat sources  that don't require electricity
Above, the Mayo Clinic asserts that barbecue season brings with it the risk for
sickness from E. coli in food that hasn't been handled properly.

Happy endings...
The good and happy news is that most strains of E. coli are
harmless and strangely are welcome in the intestinal tract! These
harmless strains of E. coli are part of the normal flora of the gut,
and can benefit their hosts by preventing pathogenic bacteria from
establishing in the intestine. For those who get sick with an E. coli
infection, most get better without treatment in 5 to 10 days.

Related articles...

You also may be happy to read these articles...

Resources...
Did you know that
Aspartame, the artificial sweetener, is made
from the waste products of
genetically modified E. coli bacteria?

____________________________________________________________________
* Products on this page are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. For any
health or dietary matter, always consult your physician. This information is intended for your general
knowledge only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment for specific
medical conditions. Never disregard or delay in seeking medical advice when available.


Prepare to live happily ever after with us at happypreppers.com - the Web site of
emergency preparedness, prepping, survival,
homesteading and self-sufficiency.
Facts about E. coli prevention
The severity of the illness depends on the site of infection, which
type of E. Coli., and strength of the person's immune system.
Below are some examples of recent E. Coli outbreaks.


  • Beefy news about E. coli: Something very interesting is that
    E. Coli comes mostly from beef and vegetables, according to
    TIME magazine. Around 80% of reported cases of E. Coli are
    traced to those two sources and not chicken, for example.
    Mostly it's ground beef that's the culprit.

  • Chlorine kills E. Coli! Get out your bleach. Yes, chlorine is a
    killer source of water disinfectant, which is one of the
    reasons why its in the municipal water supply. Too bad
    ordinary tap water has other bad things lurking in it like
    fluoride.

  • Copper is an antimicrobial that inhibits the growth of
    bacteria. In a study of copper against E Coli, the percentage
    of bacteria dying from exposure to copper for 30 minutes was
    more than 90%.

  • Did you know aspartame is the feces of E. Coli? Knowing
    that will make you become a label reader. While you can't
    get E. coli from a product just because it has aspartame, it
    certainly makes you think twice about this horrid man-made
    substance.

  • The father of E. Coli is... E. Coli (Escherichia Coli) got its
    name from Theodor Escherich, a German baceriologits who
    identified the infectious agent in 1885.

E. Coli in the news...
E. Coli in the pathogenic strains can cause serious food poisoning
in humans, and are responsible for costly product recalls:

  • Food safety alert: Romain Lettuce. The Center's for
    Disease Control issued a food safety alert on Romain Lettuce
    from Salinas California Nov. 22, 2019. The E. Coli outbreak in
    romaine lettuce from Salinas California sickened more than
    23 people in 12 states.


  • Chipotle E. Coli. When Chipotle served up E. Coli it was just
    another reason for preppers not to eat at the chain, (open
    carry gun banning was the first reason). Chipotle continues
    to deal with the E. coli outbreak that made 52 people sick in
    nine states in October and November of 2015.

  • Costco rotisserie chicken salad. It was likely the vegetables
    and not the chicken that caused E. coli.


  • Other links to E. Coli outbreaks have included:


Chipotle E. Coli problem:
With so much attention being place on the E. Coli at Chipotle
restaurants, you may be wondering how to resolve the problem at
home. For starters, you should learn from Chipotle! Here's what
they are doing to avoid E. coli again...

Chipotle will:
  1. Dip onions into boiling water to kill germs before they chop
    them.
  2. Macerate onions with lemon or lime to kill germs.
  3. Chop tomatoes in centralized locations.
  4. Blanch jalapenos, lemons and limes to kill germs
  5. Marinate chicken in plastic bags instead  of bowls.
  6. Add cilantro to freshly cooked rice, so  heat destroys otential
    microbes.
Germicidal wipes Deal
Over the counter medicines to stockpile
Survival uses of mouthwash
How to prepare for a pandemic
hydrogen peroxide uses - just for preppers
Toilet paper tabs and the many uses for preppers
Do it yourself Hand Sanitizers
How to set up a quarantine at home
How to clean without running water
How to prepare for coronavirus
List of the Best Disinfectants for preppers
Water Disinfectants
Germs how to avoid getting sick from them
Steramine Disinfectant Tablets
Lifestraw family
happypreppers.com
Facebook: happypreppers.com
Pinterest: happypreppers.com
gab social media profile for happypreppers