Key public health message What did you want to address in this study and why? The parasite Toxoplasma gondii can cause severe disease in humans. People can acquire the parasite by eating raw or undercooked infected meat or unwashed fruits or vegetables contaminated with the parasite. We wanted to investigate T. gondii in commercial ready-to eat (RTE) salads in European countries to estimate the importance of these food products as sources of T. gondii. What have we learnt from this study? Using a molecular method, we detected T. gondii in 4.1% of 3,293 RTE salad samples from 10 European countries. Sampling in winter season, sampling and packaging of salad in Northern Europe and salad grown in Western Europe were associated with detection of T. gondii from salad samples. What are the implications of your findings for public health? As RTE salads are intended to be consumed raw without further processing, T. gondii in salad from European countries may lead to infections in humans. Measures to prevent and control contamination of salads are necessary. Further washing of RTE salads might be recommended for specific risk groups such as pregnant people.
🥗 Washing your salad before you eat it is always a good idea, even if it is a "ready-to-eat" product
Calero-Barnal et al. tested 3,329 samples from 10 European countries for Toxoplasma gondii
Here's what they found 👉🏽 bit.ly/EUS30TG
#EpiSky #IDSky #FoodSafety #PublicHealth
