Listeria Outbreak -- Preventing Food Illnesses in the Home

What's your opinion? : Tell us what you think by writing a review. merely click on the "Write a Review" link at the very bottom of this page.

October 18, 2011--

The recent Listeria outbreaks are a good reminder of the critical need for safe handling of food at home. Listeria is rare but more deadly than well-known pathogens such as salmonella and E. coli. It is estimated that every year some 2,500 Americans develop listeriosis.

This most recent outbreak of Listeria is so far responsible for 23 deaths linked to contaminated cantaloupe out of Colorado, it's the deadliest food outbreak in the U.S. in 25 years. Back in 1985 there was a listeria outbreak in Mexican-style soft cheeses that killed 52 people.

In addition to keeping your knives and cutting boards clean and disinfected, use one cutting board for your meats and the other for your veggies. Don't cross. And yes, wooden cutting boards are okay.

Listeria's Effects on People

While most healthy adults can be infected listeria with no severely ill effects, it can, however, kill the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. The CDC said the median age of those sickened by this recent outbreak is 78.

Listeria is particularly dangerous to pregnant women because it easily passes through to the fetus and can lead to miscarriages, stillbirths, and infections in newborn infants.

In adults symptoms can take up to 8 weeks to appear and are similar to the early symptoms of flu; fever, muscle aches, and, sometimes, nausea or diarrhea. More serious symptoms including headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, or convulsions.

A Very Bad Bug

Listeria is a bacteria, more formally called Listeria monocytogenes (or L. monocytogenes). It's been alive on planet earth longer than humans and tends to propagate in moist, muddy conditions and manure and often are carried by animals, thus spreading itself.

On farms and food processing plants cross contamination can occur when fruits and vegetables surfaces come in contact with the pathogen.

Government health officials said this was the first known outbreak of listeria in cantaloupe, making it a rare case. Listeria is more generally found in processed meats and unpasteurized milk and soft cheese.

A list of foods that have sometimes caused outbreaks of Listeria are:

hot dogs
deli meats
raw milk
Soft cheeses like feta, Brie, Camembert, blue-veined, or Mexican-style "queso blanco")
raw and cooked poultry
raw meats
deli counter raw fish

Preventing Listeria

Preventing listeria as a food illness requires effective sanitation of food contact surfaces. Just a thorough washing of the food itself will go a long way in flushing away the bacteria.

Refrigerated foods in the home should be kept below 40 °F to discourage bacterial growth. Cold temperatures keep most bacteria in as state of suspension (think hibernation). They're still there, but they're not multiplying profusely.

Keep your knives and cutting boards clean and disinfected. Use a separate cutting board for meats and another for vegetables. Wash the outside of vegetables having skins (such as cantaloupe) before cutting. The friction on the knife can drag bacteria from the skin to the inside fruit.

Thorough wash your hands before handling food. Scrub them under running water and soap for 20 seconds (about the time it takes to sing 'Happy Birthday'). It will remove survce skin cells along with bacteria and viruses which are carried away by rinsing. Then drying your hands with a clean dry towel removes additional germs.

Finally, cook foods thoroughly. Heat kills bacteria. Be aware that microwaves could have cold spots where the bacteria can still live. One trick is to divide the microwave time in quarters and stir thoroughly between each quarter segment.

Posting date: 10/18/2011

Source: CDC

What's your opinion?

Tell us what you think by writing a review. Please click on the "Write a Review" link at the very bottom of this page.
end of story