Food alert for a product produced in Spain. The European Union’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) issued this November 21 a notification on a meat product of Spanish origin in which the presence of Listeria monocytogenes.
This is a batch of ‘Cooked pork hands/Precooked pork feet’ that, as detected by the production company itself in a security check, exceeds safe levels for consumption.
The notification was made by Andorra to the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) and the RASFF has classified it as “serious”. The product withdrawal protocols were activated and no cases of people affected by the consumption of said meat product have been recorded.
Listeria monocytogenes
This pathogenic microorganism is responsible for listeriosis, a disease that, in 2021, was the fifth zoonosis most reported in the European Unionwith more than 2,180 cases, which represented an increase of 14% compared to 2020.
L. monocytogenes It is a bacteria ubiquitous in the environment, we can find it in the soil, in the water and in the intestines of some animals, which act as a transport for the bacteria in their feces. This bacteria is smart and is able to respond quickly to changing environmental conditions.
Most of these animals do not show symptoms, so the bacteria can be transferred to raw foods such as unpasteurized dairy products, raw vegetables, and raw meats. We can also find it in smoked fish and cheeses, especially soft ones.
But if we have to give a description of what would be the characteristic product causing listeriosis, it would be a processed food, with a long commercial life at refrigeration temperatures that is consumed directly, without the need to apply any cooking treatment. Unlike most foodborne pathogens, L. monocytogenes It can grow in foods with a fairly low moisture content and a high concentration of salt and has the ability to persist for a long time on contaminated surfaces or utensils.
Listeriosis: symptoms
The presence of L. monocytogenes It does not always imply the appearance of listeriosis since not all microorganisms of this species have the same pathogenic capacity. In most cases, the human immune system will have the ability to control the infection, therefore many people will be asymptomatic carriers of the bacteria. But sometimes these bacterial strains cross the intestinal barrier to multiply and spread through the bloodstream.
The disease is usually associated with flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache and, in some cases, gastrointestinal signs; symptoms that usually appear between six hours and four days after contamination. In pregnant women, the most vulnerable along with newborns and adults with a weakened immune system, it can cause spontaneous abortions, premature birth or serious neonatal infection; They can even transmit the bacteria to the fetus transplacentally or during childbirth.
Listeriosis has become a disease under surveillance and, although rare, can be serious in some cases and has been subject to mandatory notification since 1998.
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