Interesting article
Unholy Guacamole: E. Coli Found In Mexican-Style Hot SauceSamples
June 18, 2002
PHILADELPHIA (American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine) -- Travelers' diarrhea is the scourge of travelers to locales where hygiene is poor. This study suggests another possible source for travelers' diarrhea. A study found that 41 of 71 tabletop hot sauces in 36 popular
tourist restaurants in Guadalajara, Mexico, and 10 of 25 sauces from 12 popular Mexican-style, non-chain restaurants in Houston, Texas, were contaminated with E. coli bacteria.
Since E. coli is a common cause of "travelers' diarrhea," the findings suggest that eating contaminated hot sauces may lead to travelers' diarrhea.
The sauces from Guadalajara more frequently contained E Coli
contaminants and the median level of contamination was more than 1,000 times greater than that of the sauces from Houston.
In both cities, guacamole was more frequently contaminated than green sauces or red sauces. In Guadalajara, the sauces
were usually sitting at room temperature on the restaurant table.
