Salmonellosis, listeriosis, anisakiasis ... How to avoid foodborne diseases thanks to science

 According to data from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, ​​the main cause of foodborne illness in Spain is bacteria. According to the latest European ONE HEALTH report collected by AESAN, campylobacteriosis was the most reported gastrointestinal disease in the EU in recent years, affecting over 220,000 people in 2019, followed by salmonellosis by 88,000. Comment Avoid them 

The European Food Protection Authority (EFSA) is the European Union agency that launched the #EUChooseSafeFood campaign - in collaboration with the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) - which aims to increase awareness of the importance of the science behind the foods that make up our diet. How the scientific community works to keep it safe .

A foodborne illness is an infection transmitted through the ingestion of food containing live pathogens or toxins - whether viruses, parasites or bacteria such as Salmonella, Listeria, Shigella, Trichinella, Anisakis and others - in amounts that affect the health of consumers. .

In the case of salmonellosis, caused by Salmonella bacteria and quite common in Europe, most cases have fever, diarrhea or colic and are mild. However, this bacterium can cause complications and lead to death if it is spread throughout the body through the blood. Bacteria can be create in foods such as meat, eggs, fruits, buds, vegetables and some processed foods, such as creams, meat products or certain processed vegetable products. In Spain, where there is a disease with notifications, in 2018, 8,872 cases of human salmonellosis were reported .

 

The golden rule for cooking, eating and keeping

There is a guide to avoiding foodborne illness by cooking or consuming certain foods. As the #EUChooseSafeFood campaign explains, the key is good food handling .

To do this, the original step is to wash your hands with warm soapy water, before and after touching the food and as many times as necessary (after going to the toilet, after handling raw foods, after eating ...).

In addition, the surfaces and kitchen utensils we use should be washed with soap and rinsed with plenty of water to ensure that no food remains on them.

In the refrigerator, raw foods should be separated from cooked food, and the latter should be kept in closed containers.

The second step to consider for good food handling is the application of appropriate heat treatment, especially in the case of products of animal origin, ie it is necessary to ensure that the temperature reached by the food during its preparation is sufficient to destroy microorganisms. , such as salmonella. . . .

AESAN recommends cooking them at at least 70 ° C for 2 minutes so that this temperature is reached evenly throughout the product. After that, if it should not be eaten immediately, the food should be stored in the refrigerator.