Episodes of food poisoning become more frequent with the onset of periods of high temperatures, such as those experienced in the Community today. In this regard, the Council of the Veterinary Colleges of Castile and León is issuing a series of recommendations to avoid possible food outbreaks and undesirable scenarios of salmonellosis and anisakiasis.
Veterinarians, who are professionals in charge of public health surveillance and inspection, are mindful of the importance of strict personal hygiene, taking extreme precautions in food preparation and proper storage. It must be remembered that salmonella is a microbe that can often be found in food or water contaminated with the faeces of infected animals or people. These bacteria enter food through lack of hygiene on the part of those who handle it (unwashed hands), through dirty work surfaces, or through other raw, contaminated or undercooked foods.
Salmonella is more common in eggs and their derivatives, undercooked or raw (mayonnaise and cream), meat (especially poultry) and fish. Consequently, government agencies cannot produce mayonnaise themselves and must supply it for industrial consumption.
To avoid outbreaks of salmonellosis, the regional council reminds that it is necessary to strictly observe personal hygiene: wash hands with hot water and soap before touching food and especially with diarrhea.
In addition, it is important to refrigerate meat, fish, shellfish, and shellfish as soon as possible after purchase, discard cracked eggs, and respect the expiration date printed on the packaging of this product. When preparing food, use clean containers, utensils and surfaces, and avoid undercooked food. Under this lens, the Territorial Delegation of the Board confirmed to Diario Palentino that during this year, and always in connection with food poisoning in Palencia, they investigated, together with the epidemiological department, six possible outbreaks that could be transmitted through food: in particular, four in nursing homes or social health centers, one in a hospital, the other in a restaurant.
As the regional government told the newspaper in more detail, inspections of the facilities were carried out by the official public health veterinary services and samples were taken for analysis at the Palencia Public Health Laboratory.
Only in one of the investigated cases, namely in a nursing home, an outbreak of gastroenteritis could be foodborne, since stool cultures were positive for Salmonella enteritidis in food workers and some residents and, although this microbe was not detected in the analyzed foods, most a likely hypothesis is that it is an outbreak of gastroenteritis due to food poisoning.
Otherwise, the Council of the Veterinary Colleges of Castile and León also warns that salmonella can multiply very easily at high temperatures, and therefore they urge both individuals and public institutions to continue to exercise extreme caution and keep food refrigerated.
Anisakiasis. Similarly, anisakis is a parasite that causes two types of reactions: a digestive disease caused by the presence of parasites in the intestinal tract, or an allergic reaction causing swelling of the soft tissues (glottic inflammation, mucus in the lungs… leading to some cases in serious situations) . To avoid anisakiasis, you need to cook food well or freeze fish for at least 48 hours.
For greater safety in domestic freezers, which are less powerful than industrial ones, it should be stored frozen for five or even more days. In case of allergies, it is advisable to avoid consumption and follow medical recommendations.