How to prevent botulinum poisoning?

NOTES ON MANUALLY SEALED FOOD

Regarding the recent cases of botulinum poisoning, speaking with Thanh Nien reporters, the leader of the Food Safety Department - Ministry of Health said that since 2020 and early this year, when some localities had severe botulinum poisoning cases, the Department has continuously sent documents requesting the Food Safety Management Board and the Food Safety and Hygiene Sub-Departments of provinces and cities to step up inspection and examination of food processing and trading establishments, suspending the operations of establishments causing poisoning, unqualified production and trading establishments, and establishments at risk of causing food poisoning.

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The Department especially noted that localities need to strengthen the provision of food poisoning prevention measures for people; focus on instructing people not to cover food tightly to avoid the appearance of toxins in an anaerobic environment. Limit the use of vacuum bagging equipment to create an anaerobic environment favorable for the development of Clostridium botulinum (C.botulinum) bacteria. People should only use food of safe origin, processed and preserved to ensure food safety and hygiene conditions.

People need to eat cooked food and drink boiled water, and choose food with clear origin to avoid poisoning.

INCREASE THE CONSUMPTION OF COOKED FOOD AND BOILED DRINKS

According to the Ministry of Health, botulinum poisoning is often caused by eating foods containing this toxin produced by the bacteria C.botulinum.

C.botulinum bacteria exist in many different environments. In unfavorable environments, they form a shell (spores). When encountering a favorable environment, with nutrients and especially in an environment lacking air, these spores break the shell, grow and produce toxins. Therefore, using food that does not ensure food safety and is canned, tightly packaged, is most at risk of botulinum poisoning. Foods such as vegetables, fruits, seafood... are also at risk of C.botulinum contamination if food safety is not ensured and is not incubated, tightly packaged.

Common foods that easily cause botulinum poisoning are processed foods, hand-packaged foods, small-scale, household production, or foods that do not meet production conditions.

In particular, the trend of food poisoning is increasing worldwide due to the trend of using air-tight bags to contain food, improper food preservation, and not cooking food thoroughly before eating.

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COMPLICATIONS OF TOTAL MUSCLE PARALYSIS

According to the Ministry of Health, the main symptom of botulinum poisoning is bilateral symmetrical paralysis spreading downward. The patient may have total muscle paralysis to varying degrees, although still conscious. Severe poisoning leads to respiratory muscle paralysis, respiratory failure and death.

Botulinum poisoning has a high mortality rate and can cause long-term paralysis. With mechanical ventilation, the average time to wean off the ventilator is about 2 months, and the patient needs many months to recover afterwards.

Botulinum poisoning also causes other complications due to prolonged treatment such as: hospital infections, pneumonia and complications of mechanical ventilation; complications due to immobility, prolonged lying, ulcers; intestinal paralysis, constipation, reflux, pulmonary aspiration.

C.botulinum toxin is more virulent than toxins from other bacteria, can withstand the mildly acidic environment of the stomach but is inactivated by alkali and high temperatures of 120 degrees Celsius for 5 minutes, 80 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes, or boiling for a few minutes.

C.botulinum bacteria are common in the environment and can be transmitted through unsafe food production, transportation, storage and use. Canned and sealed foods that are processed in a crude way are susceptible to C.botulinum contamination. Industrial canned foods often use nitric acid to inhibit botulinum toxins.

(Source: Ministry of Health)

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