Cases of listeria, but can sausages also be eaten raw?
Listeria infections, recently caused by some frankfurters, require you to revise some bad habits such as eating certain raw foods. Because? Here is what the Ministry of Health and the company involved say
Following the latest news about the cases of listeria infection, a question spontaneously arises about the product that caused the alarm: can sausages also be eaten raw?
Here is what the Ministry of Health and the company involved say.
WHERE IS THE LISTERIA BACTERIA
As Start has already written, the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes , responsible for listeriosis, is a bacterium that can be found in soil, water and vegetation and can contaminate various foods such as milk, vegetables, soft cheeses, undercooked meats, sausages slightly seasoned.
HOW IT GETS INFECTED
In most cases, one gets listeriosis after consuming contaminated food.
This means that in order not to come into contact with the bacterium it is necessary to be careful and respect the methods of conservation, preparation and consumption of food, which are usually indicated precisely on the label on the package.
WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE WÜRSTEL RELATED TO LISTERIA CASES
In the case of frankfurters, withdrawn from the market as a precaution because they were held responsible for 66 infections and 3 deaths, it was learned from a patient who had eaten them raw, allowing health authorities to identify the source.
Eating this product without first cooking it is as bad a habit as it is apparently quite widespread.
However, on the packaging it is indicated that it is a food "to be consumed after cooking".
BUT WHY CANNOT EAT RAW WÜRSTEL?
Cooking, especially if provided for by the instructions provided on the package, is essential to eliminate the possible presence of bacteria. As the ministry informs , the Listeria bacterium in fact “resists low temperatures and drying very well, in food stored at refrigeration temperature (4 ° C). On the other hand, it is very sensitive to the domestic cooking temperatures of food ”.
In the case of frankfurters there is both the possibility of cooking them on the plate or in a pan and in boiling water and the inside must in any case be reached by a temperature of at least 65 ° C.
THE RESPONSE OF THE MANUFACTURER
The Tre Valli Agricultural Company, which produces and markets the frankfurters under trial through various brands, defends itself with a note in which it writes that "it activated the procedure in agreement with the Competent Authorities exclusively as a precaution, as the erroneous storage of the product and failure to comply with the cooking instructions on the label could make the food unsuitable for consumption from a microbiological point of view ".
Therefore, although traces of the Listeria strain were found at the production site, the company points the finger at consumers who have not followed the directions.
But there is also another factor not to be ignored. Agricola Tre Valli, in fact, attributes some responsibility to the "extraordinary heat" which could somehow have influenced if the products, once purchased, had "been transported, stored improperly and then consumed by not following the instructions on the label".
On the packaging, as reiterated in another press release from the company, it is also indicated that it is necessary to store the product at a temperature between 0 ° C and + 4 ° C.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/casi-di-listeria-ma-si-possono-mangiare-anche-crudi-i-wurstel/ on Sun, 02 Oct 2022 07:11:05 +0000.