Dangers at the heart of lettuce

One of the country's leading food experts has warned that the seemingly innocent lettuce could carry dangerous germs.

Professor Hugh Pennington warned that chefs should take extra care washing their vegetables in case they are infected with E coli.

Pennington, who headed last year's inquiry into the bacterium, told a seminar hosted by the Consortium of Caterers and Administrators in Education that it should not be forgotten that E coli could be contracted from vegetables such as lettuce, through the spreading of manure and abattoir waste on fields.

He added that there have been outbreaks in the USA through contaminated apple juice and potatoes. "The risk is small, but real," he said, and he recommended that chefs wash their hands carefully when handling vegetables.

Pennington said that safety was set to improve in abattoirs as the implementation of a new safety scoring system would help root out offenders.