Ferrero has been forced to recall hundreds of tons of chocolates after a “potential” link with cases of salmonellosis, a disease most often not serious but which can, in rare cases, lead to death.
It’s a massive recall of Kinder products that the Ferrero brand was forced to orchestrate. Two weeks before Easter, several hundred tons of chocolate are concerned. In question: a link “potential” with salmonella contamination, the Italian group said on Monday. “These recalls follow an epidemic of salmonellosis in several European countries”said Public Health France. Le Figaro provides an update on this bacterium that can cause food infections that are usually mild but which can turn out to be very serious in some cases.
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Where do salmonella come from?
Named after the American veterinarian who discovered them, Daniel Elmer Salmon, these bacteria, which cause the disease called salmonellosis, usually come from the digestive tract of animals. If the cold slows down their development, it does not kill them. The heat, yes. Often, it is a breach of hygiene rules that triggers contamination of human food. The development of salmonellosis also depends on the type of bacteria (the Salmonella family is large) and the quantity absorbed.
In what foods are they found?
A wide variety of foods, eaten raw, undercooked or contaminated after cooking, can be the source of contamination: meat-based products including charcuterie, eggs or raw milk including certain cheeses. More rarely, contamination can result from the consumption of fresh fruits or raw vegetables infected with animal excrement. Contaminated milk powder can also cause salmonellosis in infants and young children, as illustrated by the Lactalis contaminated infant milk crisis in 2018 in France. Finally, salmonella present in animal faeces can contaminate pasture, soil and water, and then survive there for several months. The environment and untreated water can therefore also represent a source of contamination, adds the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (Anses).
Contamination of humans through contaminated food (95% of cases) can spread in one or more countries if a contaminated food is widely marketed. An epidemic that started with ice cream affected 224,000 people in the United States in 1994, notes the Institut Pasteur on its website. In France, one of the most important epidemics, the cause of which remains unknown, would have affected at least 25,000 people at the end of 1985, according to the same source.
How many cases of salmonellosis are detected per year?
Salmonellosis is the second leading cause of gastrointestinal infection in humans after campylobacteriosis, and a major cause of foodborne infection in Europe with 91,857 confirmed cases in 2018, a rate of 20.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, according to figures from the Pasteur Institute.
In France, salmonella is the first confirmed pathogen in cases of collective food poisoning (TIAC). In 2015, it represented 48% of outbreaks for which a pathogen was confirmed, specifies ANSES. However, the number of outbreaks where these bacteria have been isolated has been steadily decreasing in the European Union since 2001.
What are the symptoms ?
Symptoms of salmonellosis appear on average after one to three days of incubation. They are most often those of sometimes acute gastroenteritis: diarrhea and abdominal cramps, slight fever, even vomiting.
Can infection lead to death?
While a healthy adult will generally recover between three and five days on average, the infection can, in some cases, be dangerous or even fatal. Infants, young children, the elderly, pregnant women or immunocompromised people are most at risk. These fragile people can indeed find themselves in severe dehydration under the effect of diarrhea. Complications are also possible, such as sepsis or meningitis. For severe forms, antibiotic treatment is indicated.
How to fight against this epidemic?
On the consumer side, the important thing remains prevention, which involves reminding people of hygiene rules such as washing hands before cooking and regular cleaning, etc. Concerning the rules of conservation and preparation, the Pasteur Institute recommends good cooking of food, in particular meat at at least 65°C for five to six minutes, to respect the cold chain. He also advises keeping eggs in the fridge, keeping egg preparations without cooking cold (mayonnaise, creams, pastries, etc.) and consuming them as close as possible to their manufacture.
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In France, ANSES also advises the elderly, sick, immunocompromised, young children and pregnant women not to consume raw or undercooked eggs, raw or undercooked meats, raw milk. To limit transmission, especially to young children, it is also advisable to wash your hands well after going to the toilet or after changing your baby.
For professionals, it is, of course, essential to respect these same rules of hygiene and conservation. In the event that an industrialist identifies salmonella, decontamination, via chemicals or with water vapour, is imperative.