A young man died after eating noodles: there was a bacteria on the plate

Thinking that a pasta dish can lead to death is surprising. But that's the case. That's what happened eight years ago, when a young Belgian died after eating a plate of overheated noodles. A science magazine relaunched the case to explain what had caused his death.

According to what was published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, after the autopsy of the young man, they discovered the presence of Bacillus cereus bacteria on his body, which appear when the pasta does not cool and cause the death of the person who consumes them.

"Yes, anything can happen in case of contamination.Dough can be the substrate in which a series of harmful bacteria proliferates.Although the problem in this case does not concern pasta or fried rice, freshly boiled pasta is sterile because The problem is that keeping at room temperature may be subject to contamination which, in this case, should have occurred in the first few days after the abandonment of the pasta without refrigeration, so that there was a incubation time, proliferation There are bacteria that can generate toxins.If this is the case, heating food is not a solution to eliminate them, "said the Spanish biologist and nutritionist Juan Revenga.

Experts say that if cooked foods are left at room temperature, different pathogenic microorganisms can develop, potentially posing a health risk.

"Bacillus cereus is a bacterium that can cause two types of symptoms: diarrhea, caused by ingestion of food contaminated with a large number of bacteria, and emetics (vomiting) caused by the ingestion of toxins produced by this bacteria … It is not usual to cause death, but there have been cases, "said the doctor of food science and technology, Miguel Angel Lurueña.

Precautions

• A basic element is to keep food in the refrigerator. Pasta and rice, stored for up to three days, should not be dangerous.
• Refrigerate as soon as possible raw foods (especially those of animal origin) and those that have been cooked.
• Wash your hands, utensils, surfaces and some foods such as fruits and vegetables.
• Cook food at a temperature and time sufficient to eliminate the possible presence of pathogenic microorganisms. For example, curd eggs, cooking chicken, etc.
• Avoid cross-contamination, that is, prevent food that is already ready to be consumed from coming into contact with dirty / raw food, as the contamination of the latter would be the first.
• Respect the expiry dates of the food.