He The European Union Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) ordered the withdrawal of all party units Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus Galloprovincialis) from Spain. The cause of this food alarm was the presence of extremely high levels of bacteria. Escherichia coli.
As was recently the case with a batch of swordfish with high mercury levels, the food alarm was triggered by a routine test in Italy, with levels E. coli 700 times higher than permitted. Therefore, the alarm was immediately raised.
At the moment, RASFF has not made public the specific lot that was affected. This system works as follows. It goes directly to the production and distribution chain of the affected food products to remove them as soon as possible so that they do not reach the consumer. However, it does not inform the consumer what the lot is. These warnings are often issued before the contaminated food reaches consumers, but this is not always possible. We are consoled by the fact that if it is distributed in Spain, perhaps AESAN will issue its own warning, and there will be details. a lot is involved.
E. coli in mussels
Bacteria E. coli It is part of our gut microbiota, without causing us any illness. However, we can become infected with it through contaminated food or water, with higher levels causing symptoms. Most strains cause mild symptoms. Only one diarrhea and some digestive disorders. However, there is tension, i.e. O157:H7which can cause severe abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhea and vomiting. In these cases, it is very important to control dehydration, as it can be very dangerous.
One of the problems with these bacteria is that can make us sick at very low levelsIt is enough to drink a little water from a contaminated pool for symptoms to appear.
Therefore, mussels, in which the content of this bacterium is 700 times higher than the permissible norm, pose a great risk. It is enough to start food warning as soon as possible.
Old familiar food alerts
Mussels filter feeding animals. This means that they suck in large amounts of water and filter out the mostly microscopic organisms that live in it. This is how they feed.
The problem is that filter feeding animals living in polluted water can absorb all these impurities. This happens with both heavy metals, such as mercury or lead, and pathogens. This may be what happened to these mussels. Although, since their exact origin is unknown, we cannot know the level of contamination of the waters in which they were caught.
In any case, since food warnings are not uncommon, quality control is usually very thorough. In Italy, the problem was quickly detected and, with luck, it may not have reached any consumer’s kitchen. At the moment, in Spain ESAN has not issued any food warnings. We can be sure of that.
Source: Hiper Textual
