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Frozen corn and possibly other frozen vegetables produced in a company in Hungary are the likely source of a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak affecting Austria, the Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Despite the product recall ordered by the Hungarian Food Safety Board, new cases may still appear, according to updated risk badessment published by the ECDC and the European Authority Food Safety (EFSA).
Since June 8, 2018 and since 2015, 47 cases of listeriosis have been confirmed in this outbreak, nine of which resulted in death, which represents a case-fatality rate of 19%.
On June 29, 2018, the Hungarian Bureau of Food Chain Safety banned the marketing of all frozen vegetables and frozen mixed vegetables produced by the company between August 2016 and June 2018 and ordered their withdrawal immediate and their recall. All freezing activities at the plant were halted in June 2018.
The booster should significantly reduce the risk of human infections, but new cases may still appear as long as the contaminated products are still on the market and in freezers. In addition, the long incubation period of listeriosis (up to 70 days), the long shelf life of frozen corn products and the consumption of frozen corn purchased before the booster and eaten without adequate cooking can also generate new cases. Contaminated vegetables from the 2017 and 2016 production seasons pose a risk to consumers until their withdrawal and recall are complete.
To reduce the risk of L. The risk badessment of the ECDC and EFSA suggests that consumers should carefully cook frozen vegetables that are not labeled as ready to consume, even those that are sometimes eaten without cooking, for example in salads and smoothies. This applies especially to those most at risk of contracting listeriosis – such as the elderly, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems.
It was initially believed that the food source for this outbreak was restricted to frozen corn. sequencing of the entire genome found corresponding strains of L. monocytogenes in other frozen vegetables produced by Hungarian society in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Results suggest that strains were persisted in the treatment plant despite the cleaning and disinfection procedures that were performed. The ECDC-EFSA report calls for further investigation, including extensive sampling and testing, to identify the exact points of contamination.
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