2023-07-14 05:23:25
A team of researchers from Laval University has detected traces of the presence of the hepatitis E virus in several foods containing pork liver in Quebec. The president of Quebec Pork Breeders finds the results of the study worrying and says he wants to ensure that producers comply with health standards.
Updated yesterday at 5:00 a.m.
What there is to know
Traces of the presence of the hepatitis E virus have been detected by a team of Quebec researchers in several foods containing pork liver. The president of the Quebec pork breeders considers the results of the study worrying. Researchers have yet to determine whether these traces of virus might infect a person who consumes them.
“We don’t want to worry people. It is rather a call for caution,” says the head of the study, Julie Jean, professor at Laval University and researcher at the Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods.
The study was carried out on 83 liver and country pâtés purchased in Quebec grocery stores in the summer of 2022. The researchers opted for a diversity of products, manufacturers and batches. Pork liver, however, had to be among the first three ingredients of the pâté.
The team also obtained 79 samples of raw pork liver from slaughterhouses in different regions of Quebec.
The researchers found that hepatitis E virus RNA was found in almost a third (29%) of pâtés and 4% of raw pork liver samples from Quebec.
This higher percentage in the pâtés is probably explained by the fact that the manufacturers mix the livers of several pigs in the same batch of pâtés, indicates Ms. Jean.
“To see a study like that come out is worrying,” says the president of the Éleveurs de porcs du Québec, Louis-Philippe Roy. “We will look at what might be improved [sur le plan] breeding to make sure to correct the situation. The president says he wants to ensure “that producers do the work to meet health standards and respect Quebec’s high standards, as they have done in the past.”
Risks of infection?
Hepatitis E is an inflammation of the liver caused by the virus of the same name. This virus circulates in several animals, including pigs.
“If we found RNA, that proves that at some point, the animals contained the virus,” says Professor Julie Jean. However, the research team has not yet determined whether these traces of virus in food products might infect a person who consumes them.
RNA detection targets only part of the virus. “So we are not able to say if the whole virus is active and capable of infecting us or if it is inactivated by cooking the product,” explains Ms. Jean. The team wants to look into this subject in future research.
Studies conducted elsewhere in the world have also reported the presence of the hepatitis E virus in deli meats or prepared meals containing a significant proportion of pork liver.
However, this is the first study conducted on the subject in Quebec.
Foods to study
So far, no outbreak of hepatitis E caused by the consumption of food containing pork infected with this virus has been reported in Quebec. Consumption of products containing pork liver appears to pose little risk to healthy people, argues Ms. Jean.
“I don’t think we need to change consumer habits. I eat liver pâté and I have no particular concerns, but these are foods that need to be investigated further to find out if it poses a real risk, ”she says.
People infected with hepatitis E may experience a variety of symptoms such as fever, loss of appetite, abdominal cramps and fatigue.
Healthy people infected with hepatitis E are generally not very sick or present with an asymptomatic infection, notes Julie Jean.
The virus can pose more problems for immunosuppressed people, those with liver disease and pregnant women. “These people can develop much more serious complications, more severe types of hepatitis and that can lead to death,” says the researcher.
The results of the study have been published in the journal Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems.
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