During our lab this week, i have come across an organism that is a serious concern in public health. Therefore I did some research on Listeria monocytogenes and listeriosis.
Listeriosis is usually caused by eating food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, and is an important public health problem in the United States according to the CDC website. It primarily affects older adults, pregnant women, newborns, and the immunodeficient patients.
Listeria is killed by pasteurization and cooking; however, in some ready-to-eat foods, contamination may occur after factory cooking but before packaging. Unlike most bacteria, Listeria bacteria can grow and multiply in the refrigerator. (Does anyone still want to eat that rare meat at the restaurant?)
Pregnant women have to be particularly careful, because other than the fact that their immune system is compromised, babies can be born with listeriosis if their mothers eat contaminated food during pregnancy.
I have also found this interesting article from the CDC website titled:
Outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes Infections Associated with Pasteurized Milk from a Local Dairy --- Massachusetts, 2007 and you can find it at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5740a1.htm. This article or incidence, along with the previous article that I posted last week, just points out the seriousness or severity of risk of contamination to the general public.
Listeriosis is usually caused by eating food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, and is an important public health problem in the United States according to the CDC website. It primarily affects older adults, pregnant women, newborns, and the immunodeficient patients.
Listeria is killed by pasteurization and cooking; however, in some ready-to-eat foods, contamination may occur after factory cooking but before packaging. Unlike most bacteria, Listeria bacteria can grow and multiply in the refrigerator. (Does anyone still want to eat that rare meat at the restaurant?)
Pregnant women have to be particularly careful, because other than the fact that their immune system is compromised, babies can be born with listeriosis if their mothers eat contaminated food during pregnancy.
I have also found this interesting article from the CDC website titled:
Outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes Infections Associated with Pasteurized Milk from a Local Dairy --- Massachusetts, 2007 and you can find it at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5740a1.htm. This article or incidence, along with the previous article that I posted last week, just points out the seriousness or severity of risk of contamination to the general public.
I remember when I was pregnant how shocked I was when I received my "list" of untouchable foods. I pretty much liked and normally ate everything on the list. Things like raw meats (I love sushi!), deli meats including hot dogs (I love turkey sandwiches!), raw eggs (can be found in Caesar dressing and mayonaise, both I love!), and fish high in mercury (of course my favorite is seared tuna, double wammy!). I was also told I could not eat my usual medium rare steaks! I guess it's a good thing I ended up craving healthy foods like fruits, veggies, and smoothies. :)
ReplyDeleteI have never been one that could bring myself to eat rare meat. This makes me even more likely to never eat any type of raw or rare meat. This also makes me a little unsure about eating ready to eat foods. It's important to be careful with food that we eat.
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