75% of pregnant women in NZ aren’t aware of dangerous foods

Posted on November 25, 2020 by Douglas Powell

New research from New Zealand has found that 75% of pregnant women aren’t aware of what foods are potentially dangerous.

Researchers took a survey of 205 pregnant women, both those in a hospital and online, between December 2017 and January 2018. The results, according to BabyGaga, can be read in two ways. The good news is that the average woman scored 95% correct. The troubling news? Only 25% scored a perfect score. With things like deadly foods for fetuses, you need 100% in order to be completely protected from the dangers.

What danger foods weren’t readily known by expectant mothers? Baked goods with added cream or custard, hummus, certain salads, and soft/semi-soft Cheese all were among the most missed.

Hummus typically purchased in packages run the risk of listeria. This bacteria poses a danger to an unborn baby as it can cause the immune system to weaken. This, in turn, leads to listeriosis. Pregnant women are told to prepare any hummus at home and make sure to eat it while it is still fresh.

Refrigerated, ready-to-eat foods are generally a no-no. Two recent recalls highlight the risk.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has issued a recall for a popular brand of lunch meat.

Levitts Foods (Canada) Inc. is recalling Compliments Smoked Beef Pastrami 175 g with a best before date of Dec 25th, 2020

The CFIA said people should not consume the recalled product and instead throw it out or return it to the store they purchased it from.

The recalled Pastrami was sold at stores in Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario and possibly across the country.

Food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes may not look or smell spoiled but can still make you and your family sick.

The CFIA said there have been no illnesses reported.

This recall was triggered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) test results. The CFIA is conducting a food safety investigation, which may lead to the recall of other products. If other high-risk products are recalled, the CFIA will notify the public through updated Food Recall Warnings.

The CFIA is verifying that the industry is removing the recalled product from the marketplace.

In the UK, Tesco has issued a recall of 80G packets of its own-brand spicy chorizo slices.

Food standards officials reported a detection of Listeria monocytogenes inside some packs of 16.

Packets with the best before end date of 19/12/20 should return the product immediately.

Norwegian Authority warns pregnant women to avoid ginger supplements

Posted on August 25, 2019 by Douglas Powell

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority warns pregnant women and women planning to become pregnant to avoid ginger supplements and ginger-containing shots.

Will Chu of Nutra reports the warning comes after the Danish Technical University (DTU) and the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration carried out a new risk assessment that found a higher abortion risk in animal studies.

In the report, the DTU said the results did not exclude the possibility that large ginger quantities could also increase this risk in humans.

“The DTU Food Institute concludes that in many cases ginger root ingestion from a single ginger shot will be larger (up to 20-23 grams (g) per day) than the fresh or dried amount typically eaten in the diet.

“Experiments in rats indicate that ginger can affect the normal foetal development,” says the report, dated 21 December 2018.

“The studies conducted so far in humans did not investigate whether ginger can have a harmful effect early in pregnancy. Animal studies suggest that it may be a particularly sensitive period. 

“There is a small safety margin between the daily dose linked to harmful effects during pregnancy in rats and the amount of ginger that can be consumed with one ginger shot,” the report continues.

Along with the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health assessed the Danish report, supporting its conclusions and issuing the warning against taking ginger shots and supplements with ginger.

Florida woman mistakes 37-week pregnancy for bad Chinese food

Posted on April 8, 2018 by Douglas Powell

Jake Newby of USA Today reports Crystal Gail Amerson, 29, of Pensacola Florida, said she woke up around 4 a.m. Sunday with stomach pains that had her running back and forth between the bathroom and bedroom for more than an hour.

“I had Chinese food the night before and I kind of figured maybe I had food poisoning or something like that,” Amerson said.

But it turned out there was nothing wrong with the General Tso’s chicken Amerson ate the previous night. Unbeknownst to her, she was actually 37 weeks pregnant and was on the verge of giving birth to her second son.

Amerson called off work at 5 a.m., and an hour later, as the pain worsened, she woke her fiancé up because they needed to call an ambulance.

“The stomach pains were just excruciating and I could hardly move,” Amerson said. “I think it was about 6:30 (a.m.) when (the ambulance) got there. … It escalated so quickly that I was having contractions and we figured out kind of what was going on because at first we really didn’t know what was going on.”

So how was it possible that Amerson didn’t realize she was pregnant?

Amerson had already been through one pregnancy but said she was never the type to feel a lot of the symptoms typically aligned with pregnancy, such as morning sickness. She also said she didn’t notice much weight gain.

“I gained a little bit of weight, but I think with my first baby I didn’t notice either,” Amerson said. “I never gained that pregnancy shape, really. And then I wear scrubs to work because I work at a retirement home for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. So I guess the way they fit me as well, it was hard to notice anything or tell anything.”

‘It felt as if my heart had been ripped out’ 3-day-old Australian baby dies of

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Douglas Powell

A mother from Queensland has shared the heartbreaking moment she was told she’d contracted Listeria and passed it to her unborn baby.

Jeanya Rush, 20, from Brisbane, was six months pregnant with her second child – a baby boy – when she started to experience ‘excruciating headaches and high fevers’.

The young mum told Katherine Davison of the Daily Mail Australia that she later discovered she had contracted Listeria – from either a pre-cut fruit salad, cream cheese or an ice-cream she had eaten – and had passed the foodborne illness on to her baby boy, who she and her partner Levi had named Zephaniah.

Doctors told her the infection had left her son ‘severely disabled’ and she and Levi faced the agonising decision whether to let him go.

‘I had tested positive for Listeria. It had infected my uterus and also reached Zephaniah’s brain,’ Ms Rush wrote in a heartrending Facebook post.

‘He [the doctor] told us that Zephaniah could not live without the machines that aid him and if he were to survive he would be severely disabled for the rest of his life.

‘He would show no emotion or understanding he would be basically be in a comatose state. And worst of all, it was our choice whether or not to let him go. Levi and I were broken. Nothing could ever describe the pain we felt in that moment.’

Ms Rush said it was the hardest decision they had ever had to make.

‘It took a long time to decide. As Zephaniah stayed on life support, we were by his side and it made everything that much harder,’ she wrote.

‘But we both knew what we had to do and eventually Levi and I came to a decision and it was the hardest one we have ever had to make. We chose to let Zephaniah go and relieve him of his pain and suffering.’

Ms Rush had tested positive for listeria – leading their baby to be severely disabled – and the young couple made the devastating decision to let him go.

‘The midwives and doctors arranged everything. We had our loved ones come in to say good bye to our boy, Zephaniah was blessed by the Elders of Levi’s church, and it was one very long emotional day preparing to send our boy off,’ Ms Rush wrote.

‘When the time came, Levi and I were taken to a private room with Zephaniah, accompanied by 2 lovely midwives.

‘They took out his breathing tubes and we held Zephaniah for approximately an hour until his final breath.

‘When he turned cold in my arms it felt as if my heart had been ripped out of my chest.

‘We held him for a little while longer before the midwives took him away. We returned to our room and sat in silence. I will never forget the pure pain of that moment.’

Can a vaccine protect fetuses and newborns from listeriosis

Posted on August 23, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Listeriosis is a fatal infection for fetuses and newborns with two clinical main morbidities in the neonatal period, meningitis and diffused cutaneous lesions.

In this study, we vaccinated pregnant females with two gold glyconanoparticles (GNP) loaded with two peptides, listeriolysin peptide 91–99 (LLO91–99) or glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase 1–22 peptide (GAPDH1–22). Neonates born to vaccinated mothers were free of bacteria and healthy, while non-vaccinated mice presented clear brain affections and cutaneous diminishment of melanocytes.

Therefore, these nanoparticle vaccines are effective measures to offer pregnant mothers at high risk of listeriosis interesting therapies that cross the placenta.

Pregnancy vaccination with gold glyco-nanoparticles carrying Listeria monocytogenes peptides protects against Listeriosis and brain- and cutaneous-associated morbidities

Nanomaterials 2016, 6(8), 151; doi:10.3390/nano6080151 (registering DOI)

R Calderón-Gonzalez, H Terán-Navarro, E Frande-Cabanes, E Ferrández-Fernández, J Freire, S Penadés, S Yañez-Díaz, C Alvarez-Domínguez

http://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/6/8/151

To all the pregnant ladies: Hepatitis E is a risk

Posted on June 23, 2016 by Douglas Powell

It is of great concern that pregnant women with acute viral hepatitis (AVH) type E have serious consequences. This study aimed to estimate the case-fatality risk (CFR) and potential risk factors of pregnant women with AVH type E.

We searched the PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases for studies containing data on CFR in pregnancy with AVH type E. A pooled estimate of CFR was calculated using a random-effects model. Potential sources of heterogeneity were explored using subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis, and meta-regression. We identified 47 eligible studies with a total African and Asian population of 3968 individuals. The pooled CFRs of maternal and fetal outcomes were 20·8% [95% confidence interval (CI) 16·6–25·3] and 34·2% (95% CI 26·0–43·0), respectively. Compared with these, the pooled CFR was highest (61·2%) in women with fulminant hepatic failure (FHF). Community-based surveys had lower pooled CFR (12·2%, 95% CI 9·2–15·6) and heterogeneity (25·8%, 95% CI 20·1–32·0) than hospital-based surveys. Univariate analysis showed that hospital-based surveying (P = 0·007), and patients in the third trimester of pregnancy or with FHF (P < 0·05), were significantly associated with CFR. Intrauterine fetal mortality (27·0%) was statistically higher than neonatal mortality (3·9%).

Control measures for HEV infection would reduce feto-maternal mortality in Asia and Africa.

Case-fatality risk of pregnant women with acute viral hepatitis type E: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Epidemiology and Infection, Volume 144, Issue 10, July 2016, pp. 2098-2106, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0950268816000418

Jin, Y. Zhao, X. Zhang, B. Wang, P. Liu

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=10375512&utm_source=Issue_Alert&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=HYG

Where’s the risk assessment? Raw British eggs safe for pregnant women, old folks, report says

Posted on January 31, 2016 by Douglas Powell

In an apparent triumph of culture over science, the UK’s Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food says pregnant women should be told they can safely eat runny eggs, almost 30 years after the Salmonella crisis.

British eggs with the red lion mark carry such a low risk that vulnerable groups, such as expectant mothers and elderly people, could eat them lightly cooked or raw in items such as mayonnaise.

The report by the committee’s egg working group said lion-marked eggs, which make up almost 90% of UK production, should be categorised as “very low” risk. This was because improved hygiene and storage had resulted in “a major reduction in the microbiological risk from salmonella” in British hen eggs in the last 15 years.

It recommended that the Food Standards Agency change its official advice on these eggs but said the warning should remain in place for imported eggs, UK eggs without the lion mark and those from birds other than hens.

Fears over salmonella peaked in the late 1980s when 2 million chickens were slaughtered and pregnant women were told to avoid undercooked eggs.

The ACMSF report said: “The ‘very low’ risk level means that eggs produced under the lion code, or produced under demonstrably equivalent comprehensive schemes, can be served raw or lightly cooked to all groups in society, including those that are more vulnerable to infection, in both domestic and commercial settings, including care homes and hospitals.”

In 1988 the then junior health minister Edwina Currie said most egg production in Britain was infected with salmonella. Her comments sparked a public outcry and forced her to resign two weeks later. By early 1989 the link between eggs and salmonella poisoning was proved beyond doubt.

HPP may be safe but this advert is bad

Posted on August 11, 2015 by Douglas Powell

In 2005, Hormel Foodservice became the first meat processor to make a significant investment in High Pressure Pasteurization (HPP).

HPP is employed after the meat is sliced and packaged — so there is no opportunity for harmful pathogens and food spoilage organisms to re-enter the package, and no need for taste-altering preservatives.

Sounds good, although I wonder about the potential for contamination once the package is opened.

But check out this ad which is a good example of marketers messing up science.

Expectant mothers are advised not to eat cold cuts and other refrigerated ready-to-eat foods because of the potential for Listeria contamination.

In addition to the medieval stirrups and a stereotypical representation of birth, there is no mention of why this lunchmeat may be OK other than, it has no preservatives.

Bad Hormel, bad.

Like I tell mommies-to-be: Listeria is prevalent, persistent in retail delis

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Purdue University research shows that standard cleaning procedures in retail delis may not eradicate Listeria monocytogenes, which can cause a potentially fatal disease in people with vulnerable immune systems.

A study led by Haley Oliver, assistant professor of food science, found that 6.8 percent of samples taken in 15 delis before daily operation had begun tested positive for L. monocytogenes.

In a second sampling phase, 9.5 percent of samples taken in 30 delis during operation over six months tested positive for the bacteria. In 12 delis, the same subtypes of the bacteria cropped up in several of the monthly samplings, which could mean that L. monocytogenes can persist in growth niches over time.

“This is a public health challenge,” Oliver said. “These data suggest that failure to thoroughly execute cleaning and sanitation protocols is allowing L. monocytogenes to persist in some stores. We can’t in good conscience tell people with weak immune systems that it is safe to eat at the deli.”

In healthy individuals, eating food contaminated with L. monocytogenes may lead to common food poisoning symptoms such as diarrhea or an upset stomach. But the bacteria can cause listeriosis – a serious systemic infection – in immunocompromised people such as the elderly, infants and children, pregnant women and people with HIV. In severe cases, L. monocytogenes can pass through the intestinal membrane and into the bloodstream or cross the blood-brain barrier. The bacteria can also cross the placental barrier in pregnant women, which can trigger abortion.

Ready-to-eat deli meats are the food most associated with L. monocytogenes, which can grow at refrigerator temperatures, unlike Salmonella and E. coli.

Stringent control measures and inspections have tamped down the presence of L. monocytogenes at meat processing plants, but there are no regulations specific to Listeria for retail delis. Recent risk assessments suggest that up to 83 percent of listeriosis cases linked to deli meats are attributable to products contaminated at retail.

“It’s kind of the Wild West,” Oliver said. “Manufacturing has a zero-tolerance policy for Listeria, but that dissipates at the retail level. The challenge of developing systematic cleaning procedures for a wide variety of delis – which are less restricted environments than processing plants – can make Listeria harder to control.”

Consumers with vulnerable immune systems should buy prepackaged deli meats or heat ready-to-eat meats to 165 degrees, she said. Meat contaminated with L. monocytogenes will not show signs of spoilage, such as sliminess or odor.

The paper was published in the Journal of Food Protection. The abstract is available at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iafp/jfp/2014/00000077/00000011/art00012

But what about listeria risks? FDA says fish consumption in large amount is the best food during pregnancy

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Daughter 2-of-5 is pregnant with my second grandson (I’m old).

What I’ve found through all these pregnancies is the enormous amount of conflicting advice provided to the moms-to-be.

It’s stressful enough being pregnant (not that I would know) without having Dr.-this-that giving bogus advice.

The Westside Story (whatever that is) writes that conflicting research works have been done on the nutritional benefits of consuming large amounts of fish during pregnancy and after that. Some studies have shown that fish is among the best foods that a pregnant and breastfeeding mom needs to take for the benefit of her baby and her own. However, some other studies raised questions about fish consumption, citing that some fish could actually have an adverse impact on the brain development of a baby. According to the latest research by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), fish is good and eating large amounts of it is even better.

Good for brain development

What these stories lack is the potential Listeria risk in any refrigerated ready-to-eat foods like smoked salmon.

My kid’s got a biology degree and we’ve talked about this.

There’s a significant risk difference between refrigerated ready-to-eat foods and whole fish cooked to 145F as measured by a tip-sensitive digital thermometer.

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