Würstel withdrawn from the market due to the presence of bacteria. The Ministry of Health moves after the increase in clinical cases of food listeriosis registered in some Italian regions in recent times. Listeria, explains Today, is a serious disease that affects those who eat contaminated food, the cases were all caused by the same bacterial strain (St 155). The disease is due to the contamination of certain foods by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. From 2020 to date, three people have died and 66 clinical cases of listeriosis have been identified in Italy. The deaths occurred in December 2021, March 2022 and June 2022 in Lombardy, Piedmont, Emilia Romagna and all involved immunocompromised or particularly fragile people.
Frankfurters withdrawn from supermarkets
The checks, carried out by the working group set up by the Ministry of Health to deal with the spread, showed a correlation between some of the clinical cases and the presence of the Listeria St155 strain in wϋrstel based on poultry meat produced by the Tre Valli farm (code of approval IT 04 M CE). The presence of the bacterium was also detected by sampling carried out at the plant. In summary: poultry meat exposed to a bacterial infection.
The company concerned (which produces for several companies, for several brands) immediately activated, promptly, putting in place all the necessary measures to protect the consumer for the withdrawal of the lots that were positive (1785417 and 01810919) and, to have the maximum precaution, of all those products dating back to before 12 September 2022. It has also implemented a communication reinforcing what has already been indicated on the products directly in the points of sale.
Further investigations are also underway on other matrices and other types of products that could be related to human cases of listeriosis.
The advice of the ministry
The Ministry of Health invites consumers to pay maximum attention to the correct methods of conservation, preparation and consumption of food, in the specific case of frankfurters, indicated precisely on the label on the package, which normally involve cooking before consumption. The adoption of simple rules of hygiene in the handling of food, even at home, in fact reduces the risk of contracting the disease. In particular:
- wash your hands often, frequently clean all surfaces and materials that come into contact with food (utensils, small appliances, refrigerator, dishcloths and sponges);
- store raw, cooked and ready-to-eat foods in the refrigerator separately and in closed containers;
- cook food well following the manufacturer’s instructions on the label;
- do not prepare the food to be consumed after cooking too early (if not, keep it in the fridge and reheat it before consumption);
- do not leave perishable foods at room temperature and respect the storage temperature indicated on the label.
Listeriosis, what it is, causes and symptoms
Listeria infection is a food infection: it is caused by a bacterium that is commonly found in soil and water and which can therefore easily contaminate vegetables and greens and infect animals. Among the offending foods there are often fresh cheeses, sausages, vegetables and uncooked meats, dairy products made with unpasteurized milk. Some people are more at risk: infants, the elderly, pregnant women and adults with compromised immune systems.
The infection can take different clinical forms, from acute febrile gastroenteritis more typical of food poisoning, which occurs within a few hours after ingestion, to invasive or systemic: in immunocompromised subjects, pregnant women, newborns and the elderly it mainly causes central nervous system infections leading to meningitis, meningoencephalitis, brain abscess, cerebritis and acute forms of sepsis. In these cases, a month can pass between the ingestion of contaminated food and the manifestation of symptoms