Recently, due to the identification of multiple cases of food poisoning caused by consuming ready to eat cooked meat products and homemade fermented foods by the national foodborne disease case monitoring system, the National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center has issued risk warnings on preventing foodborne botulism.
In recent years, homemade fermented foods have become popular among the public. At the same time as being "pure natural and zero additives", it is also full of hands-on fun, and there are many nanny level tutorials for homemade private dishes online. However, this homemade fermented food poses significant safety risks. The hidden "killer" among them is the possibility of botulinum toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum in homemade fermented foods. Botulinum toxin is a toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum in an anaerobic environment. Its toxicity is 1000000 times that of cyanide, and 50 nanograms of botulinum toxin can be lethal.
So, what is botulinum toxin?
Botulinum toxin is a neurotoxin produced by Clostridium botulinum, which can cause severe flaccid paralysis. Clostridium botulinum is widely distributed in nature and mainly exists in the form of spores in soil and animal feces, which can easily contaminate food. There are three main ways to cause botulism: ready to eat botulism, traumatic botulism, and infantile botulism. Caused by ingestion of food contaminated with botulinum toxin (foodborne) or wound infection with Clostridium botulinum spores (traumatic). Similarly, infant formula contaminated with Clostridium botulinum spores, when ingested orally, grows and reproduces in the infant's intestines, producing toxins that lead to infant botulism.
Symptoms and emergency response of botulinum toxin poisoning: In the early stages of poisoning, the main symptoms include dizziness, neck weakness, and difficulty lifting the head; Subsequently, numbness in the limbs and hardening of the tongue; Subsequently, various muscle group paralysis may occur, including blurred vision and difficulty opening the eyes. At the same time, due to paralysis of the muscles responsible for swallowing, symptoms such as difficulty swallowing and coughing may occur. Ultimately, respiratory muscle paralysis can lead to respiratory failure, and if not rescued in a timely manner, the mortality rate is relatively high.
After consuming suspicious food, if the above symptoms appear, seek medical treatment immediately and carry the remaining food for bacteriological examination to assist doctors in making a clear diagnosis as soon as possible;
What are the main foods that can easily cause botulinum toxin poisoning when the symptoms are so severe?
1. Home made fermented food and pickled food, such as bacon, bacon, pickles, lobster sauce, bean paste, Fermented bean curd, Stinky tofu.
2. Fresh cooked meat products, canned foods, bottled foods, and refrigerated foods
3. For infants, their gut microbiota has not been fully established, and botulinum spores can sprout, reproduce, and produce toxins in their intestines, leading to infectious botulism. Milk powder, honey, bottles, etc. contaminated with Clostridium botulinum are all possible culprits that can cause botulinum toxin poisoning in infants and young children.
How to prevent botulism and food poisoning?
1. Homemade fermented foods do not have mature and stable standards, lack safety control measures, and grains and beans may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum. Therefore, without mature, safe, and reliable homemade food conditions and experience, it is not recommended to blindly make homemade food.
2. Special attention should be paid to the production and storage of cooked meat products. If there is swelling at both ends of canned food or if the content changes in aroma, it should be prohibited from being sold or consumed, even if boiled.
3. It is necessary to scientifically mix, prepare, and feed infant and toddler food, clean and disinfect containers, store food safely, and prevent contamination of these foods by botulinum spores in the environment.