Pasta meal behind 80 diseases in Sweden
Around 80 people got food poisoning from a pasta meal at a football tournament in Sweden last month.
An investigation into the incident in Gammelstad on 5 August revealed that people became ill after eating spaghetti bolognese from a restaurant in LuleƄ city.
An investigation by LuleƄ municipality officials to determine the cause included studying the symptoms of those affected, interviewing patients, visiting the food company and taking samples of leftovers.
Food had been prepared at a restaurant the day before the event and stored in a refrigerator. On August 5, it had been heated up for transport to and serving at the tournament.
Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus
Testing the bolognese left at the restaurant proved satisfactory. Samples were also taken in Gammelstad where serving took place. High levels of bacteria were discovered in the pasta, plus the presence of toxins that can cause food poisoning. Food had been at room temperature for some time after serving, which gave the opportunity for bacterial growth.
Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus were found in the pasta meal. Symptoms experienced by the sick matched what would be expected with such contamination.
Staphylococcal food poisoning is caused by eating food contaminated with toxins produced by the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus. If this bacteria ends up in food stored at the wrong temperature for too long, it can multiply and form a heat-resistant toxin that can make people sick.
Based on the short period from when the food was delivered to people eating it, officials said it was likely bacteria was present before delivery. However, based on information from the restaurant, it was not possible to determine how such bacterial and toxin growth occurred.
In order to increase knowledge of such outbreaks, follow-up analyzes will be carried out at the Swedish Food Agency and further checks of the operations will be carried out by authorities.
Histamine in fish again
At the same time, 20 people recently fell ill in Sweden due to histamine levels in fish. The foodborne outbreak was linked to tuna from Vietnam.
In April 2021, 19 people suffered from histamine poisoning in Stockholm after eating tuna loins from Vietnam in three different restaurants.
In 2020, three outbreaks of histamine poisoning in tuna from Vietnam occurred in three months. These incidents affected around 60 people but contaminated tuna came from different lots. The patients were from different areas in southern and central Sweden.
The onset of histamine food poisoning symptoms can vary from minutes to several hours after ingestion of the toxin. Usually, the average incubation period before illness is one hour.
The most common symptoms of histamine, also known as scombroid fish poisoning, are tingling or burning sensation in the mouth, swelling of the face, rash, hives and itchy skin, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. They usually disappear within several hours without medical intervention.
The production of histamine is related to improper handling of food due to storage at incorrect temperatures. Once produced, histamine cannot be eliminated by normal cooking or freezing temperatures.
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