Food alert for a product made in Spain. The European Union Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) published a notification on November 21 concerning a meat product of Spanish origin in which the presence of Listeria monocytogenes.
This is a batch of “Cooked Pork Hands/Precooked Pig Feet” which, as detected by the production company itself during a safety check, exceeds the safety levels for consumption .
The notification was made by Andorra to the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) and the RASFF classified it as “serious”. Product withdrawal protocols have been 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 most reported zoonosis in the European Union, with more than 2,180 cases, representing an increase of 14% compared to 2020 .
L. monocytogenes It is an omnipresent bacteria in the environment, it can be found in soil, in water and in the intestines of certain animals, which serve as a means of transport for the bacteria in their feces. This bacteria is intelligent and able to respond quickly to changing environmental conditions.
Most of these animals show no symptoms, so the bacteria can be transferred to raw foods such as unpasteurized dairy products, raw vegetables, and raw meats. It is also found in smoked fish and cheeses, especially soft cheeses.
But if we have to describe what would be the characteristic product causing listeriosis, it would be a processed food, with a long commercial life at refrigeration temperatures and which is consumed directly, without the need for apply no cooking treatment. Unlike most foodborne pathogens, L. monocytogenes It can grow in foods with fairly low moisture content and high salt concentration and has the ability to persist for a long time on contaminated surfaces or utensils.
Listeriosis: symptoms
The presence of L. monocytogenes This 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, so many people will be asymptomatic carriers of the bacteria. But sometimes these bacterial strains cross the intestinal barrier to multiply and spread in the bloodstream.
The illness is usually associated with flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache, and, in some cases, gastrointestinal signs; symptoms which generally appear between six hours and four days after contamination. In pregnant women, the most vulnerable, as well as newborns and adults with weakened immune systems, it can cause spontaneous abortions, premature births or serious neonatal infections; 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 reporting since 1998.
