2023-07-18 08:06:21
Chopped steaks, raw milk cheeses, pizzas, … foods that have already been talked regarding for their role in epidemics of foodborne infections. Escherichia coli. This bacterium can cause serious food poisoning, especially in young children. To better protect consumers, ANSES has just made several recommendations. Explanations.
Escherichia coli enterohaemorrhagic, sometimes severe food poisoning agent
Most bacteria Escherichia coli are harmless to health. But the bacteria E. coli enterohaemorrhagic are responsible sometimes severe foodborne infections. Symptoms of infection are varied:
- Of the signs of gastroenteritis with mild watery diarrhea;
- A hemorrhagic colitis likely to progress to serious forms:
- In the child hemolytic uremic syndrome (le SHU)
- In adults, thrombotic microangiopathy.
The people most vulnerable to these enterohaemorrhagic E. coli are mainly young children (under the age of 5), the elderly and immunocompromised people (due to illness or immunosuppressive treatment ). The severity of these infections is related to the release by bacteria of toxins, shigatoxins or verotoxins. These toxins mainly attack the walls of the blood vessels of the intestine, the kidneys and the brain.
A new classification of enterohaemorrhagic E. coli
In a recent expertise, ANSES classified the different types of strains of the bacterium E. coli capable of inducing serious infections in four categories according to their virulence potential. Each year in France, approximately 140 cases of hemolytic-uremic syndrome are found in children. Some foods should be given special attention as they are potential sources ofE. coli enterohaemorrhagic, including:
- Minced meats eaten raw or undercooked, especially ground beef;
- Raw milk and raw milk cheeses;
- The flours and therefore the products prepared from these flours, when eaten raw or undercooked.
One of the latest outbreaks of these food poisonings was caused by contaminated pizza from a famous brand.
To better protect consumers, ANSES has issued new recommendations to reinforce monitoring of the risks of contamination in products, before they are available for consumption. The new classification of strains of the bacterium E. coli should make it possible to update the monitoring criteria in the agro-food sectors. In addition, ANSES recommends expanding the range of foods to be monitored to ensure the absence of such bacteria in all foods offered to consumers.
Health monitoring… but also rules to follow at home
The surveillance of agri-food chains and food by health authorities does not exempt hygiene measures and storage and cooking rules to be observed in order to prevent any risk of serious infection with E. coli. At home, once the products have been purchased, there are a few rules to remember to protect yourself, especially for the most fragile:
- Wash your hands when leaving the toilet, before and following preparing and eating meals, before and following handling raw or cooked foodstuffs;
- Carefully wash and if possible peel fruits, vegetables, aromatic herbs, especially those intended to be eaten raw;
- Thoroughly cook minced meat and minced meat products;
- Do not eat raw products that are intended to be eaten cooked, for example cakes;
- For fragile people (children under 3, the elderly, immunocompromised people): do not consume raw meat, raw milk cheese or raw flour products.
These rules help protect once morest serious infections due to E. coli but also once morest other toxi-infections of food origin, such as listeriosis, particularly in pregnant women.
Estelle B., Doctor of Pharmacy
Sources
– enterohaemorrhagic coli (EHEC) www.anses.fr. Accessed June 30, 2023.
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