The Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) has learned through the Coordinated System for Rapid Information Exchange (SCIRI) of an alert notification sent by the health authorities of the Community of Madrid. Specifically, it is an alert regarding the presence of the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes in different meat products of the MRM brand.
Citizens who have any of the products included in this alert at home are recommended to refrain from consuming them. The information offered by AESAN in this regard is the result of the health control measures taken by the MRM company itself, which has reported this incident to the competent health authorities.
If you have consumed any of the products from the affected batches and present symptoms compatible with listeriosis (vomiting, diarrhea or fever), it is recommended to go to the nearest health center.
According to the information currently available, the distribution of these products has been carried out throughout practically the entire national territory.
If you are pregnant, it is recommended to consult the consumption recommendations during pregnancy carried out by the AESAN regarding important food hygiene practices for pregnant women, as well as a list of foods that should be avoided during pregnancy because they are associated with certain biological dangers (among which stands out Listeria monocytogenes).
We remind you of the importance of taking extreme hygiene measures to avoid cross contamination with other products. For more information about the disease listeriosis you can consult the following link.
Details of the products that may have been contaminated are detailed below:
Product 1
- Product name: knife-cut lacón in tapas.
- Brand: MRM.
- Product appearance: sliced and packaged in a protective atmosphere.
- Lot number: 2425040376.
- Expiry date: 01/02/2025.
- Unit weight: 170g.
- Temperature: refrigerated.
Product 2
- Product name: 1st sliced pig head.
- Brand: MRM.
- Product appearance: sliced and vacuum packed.
- Lot number: 2425100013.
- Expiration date: 12/29/2024.
- Unit weight: 200g.
- Temperature: refrigerated.
Product 3
- Product name: sliced Iberian pig head.
- Brand: MRM.
- Product appearance: sliced and vacuum packed.
- Lot number: 2421980073.
- Expiration date: 12/29/2024.
- Unit weight: 150g.
- Temperature: refrigerated.
Product 4
- Product name: Smoked mortadella.
- Brand: MRM.
- Product appearance: sliced and vacuum packed.
- Lot number: 2425010183.
- Expiration date: 01/17/2025.
- Unit weight: 90g, 150g and 200g.
- Temperature: refrigerated.
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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