Last week, two major food recalls related to E. coli outbreaks occurred, involving ground beef and organic carrots.

E. coli is a common bacterium, but consuming certain strains can cause serious illness and even death.

Cooking food to around 160°F can kill E. coli, but experts say that if you suspect the food may be contaminated, you should discard it.

Recently, E. coli-related outbreaks have dominated the headlines - from ground beef to carrots, more and more products have been recalled due to their association with the pathogen, and dozens of illnesses have been reported so far.

While both recall notices urged consumers to discard potentially contaminated products, the ground beef recall notice also reminded consumers to cook all meat products to a safe temperature.

So, can cooking kill E. coli? More importantly, is it safe to eat food that may be contaminated with the bacteria as long as it is cooked properly beforehand?

Here's what experts have to say about the effect of heating food on E. coli and what you need to know about avoiding infection.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that E. coli is a common bacterium that exists throughout the environment, including in food, water, and the intestines of people and animals. In fact, certain types of E. coli are considered part of a healthy gut and can help with digestion and protect the body from other harmful bacteria.

Although most E. coli won't harm you, some strains can make you seriously ill or even cause death.

People usually get infected with these dangerous E. coli strains by eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water, or by coming into contact with infected animals, the environment, or other people.

The symptoms of E. coli infection vary depending on the type of bacteria, but common symptoms include watery or bloody diarrhea, severe stomach cramps, vomiting, or a low-grade fever.

However, a specific form of this pathogen - Shiga toxin-producing E. coli - can cause a serious health condition called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which can lead to kidney failure and even death.

Dr. Barbara Kowalcyk, associate professor and director of the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University, told Health magazine: "The Shiga toxin-producing E. coli that we are now finding in carrots are serious pathogens. They can cause very severe illness and even death, especially in children."

Indeed, cooking food to a certain temperature can kill E. coli. That's why you may have heard about safe cooking temperatures, especially for meat - E. coli infections from ground beef are fairly common.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) food code states that restaurants should heat ground beef to 155°F for 17 seconds. But the CDC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommend that people heat ground beef to 160°F at home because this temperature can quickly kill E. coli.

This is a fairly easy guideline to follow - simply insert a food thermometer into the center of the meat to check the temperature, Dr. Darin Detwiler, author and associate professor of food policy at the School of Professional Studies at Northeastern University, told Health magazine.

However, killing E. coli in contaminated carrots and other produce is a bit trickier.

"Yes, you can cook carrots, but most carrots are eaten raw," Detwiler said. The problem with eating raw carrots, he said, is that there is no "kill step" - a term used in the food safety community to describe measures taken to remove dangerous pathogens.

Still, Detwiler said that if carrots are cooked until the internal temperature reaches 160°F, all dangerous bacteria should be killed.

Traditionally, carrots have not been a major source of E. coli outbreaks, but Detwiler said this is part of an increasing trend of serious pathogens in fruits and vegetables. The CDC has already identified leafy greens as a "major source" of E. coli infections.

"This is a larger pattern that we have seen over the past decade," Detwiler explained. "More and more produce has been affected."

Although heating food to around 160°F can kill E. coli, food safety experts emphasize that this is not a risk worth taking. In other words, if you have recalled carrots, ground beef or any other product that may contain E. coli in your home, discard it according to the recall instructions instead of trying to kill the dangerous bacteria yourself.

Detwiler said it is also important to thoroughly clean all items that have come into contact with the recalled food, including any food near or in the refrigerator and the refrigerator itself. He emphasized that taking these recalls seriously is crucial.

"Everyone can get sick from foodborne pathogens like E. coli," he said.

To prevent foodborne illness more generally, the USDA recommends that people cook poultry and leftovers to an internal temperature of 165°F, fish and shellfish to 145°F, and beef, veal, pork, lamb chops or steaks to 145°F.

In addition, the CDC recommends that people follow the so-called four steps of food safety. These steps include cleaning surfaces and hands, separating foods to avoid cross-contamination, cooking foods to a safe temperature, and properly refrigerating foods in the refrigerator.