It can’t be removed even by boiling water, so beware of this type of food poisoning when it’s hot!

Review expert: Wang Guoyi, Postdoctoral Fellow in Nutrition and Food Safety, China Agricultural University

Recently, a piece of news about a person dying from poisoning after eating cold noodles became a hot topic. The serious consequences of one person dying and one person still being rescued shocked the netizens. At the same time, this news brought "rice fermentation acid" into the public eye again after more than two years.

Source: Weibo screenshot

In fact, there have been occasional reports of people being poisoned by eating spoiled black fungus, rice noodles, rice noodles or "sour soup". Although these foods seem to have nothing to do with each other, the culprit is actually fumonisin.

Source: Pexels

What is fumonisin?

Fumonisin is a toxin produced by a bacterium called Pseudomonas cerebrovenans . This bacterium, also known as Burkholderia gladioli , is ubiquitous in nature. When it contaminates food, the fumonisin released by it can cause serious damage to important organs such as the liver, kidneys, heart, and brain, causing food poisoning or even death.

This kind of bacteria particularly likes the environment with temperature of 25℃~37℃ and slightly acidic (pH 5~7). Therefore, the hot and humid summer and autumn are very suitable for the reproduction of this kind of bacteria. The fumonisin it releases has extremely strong heat-resistant properties. No matter how you fry, deep-fry, boil or stew it, it cannot be inactivated and its toxicity cannot be destroyed. Therefore, the "high temperature disinfection" we think of is useless against fumonisin.

Source: Pexels

The poisoning caused by fumonisin is acute, and the incubation period is usually 30 minutes to 12 hours. Therefore, obvious symptoms will appear soon after eating contaminated food, mainly manifested as nausea, vomiting, mild diarrhea, dizziness, and general weakness. Severe patients may also experience subcutaneous bleeding, vomiting blood, hematuria, unconsciousness, convulsions, twitching, shock and even death. Fever generally does not occur.

There is currently no specific drug for symptomatic treatment of fumonisin, which has a mortality rate of up to 40% to 100%.

If the poisoning is mild and medical treatment is sought promptly, the chances of rescue are relatively high; if the toxins have already reached organs such as the liver, kidneys, and heart, causing irreversible serious damage, then the chances of rescue are very slim.

Therefore, if some of the above symptoms occur and poisoning is suspected, you should first stop eating the suspicious food immediately, find a way to induce vomiting to expel stomach contents as much as possible, and seek medical attention and treatment immediately.

Foods that may cause fumonisin poisoning

Foods such as cold noodles, black fungus, rice noodles, rice noodles, and "sour soup" that have caused rice fermentation acid poisoning have appeared in the news. Although they seem unrelated, they all have one thing in common during the production process: they need to undergo a long period of fermentation or soaking. Source: pixabay

Foods that may cause fumonisin poisoning can be divided into two categories:

The first category is long-fermented cereal and potato foods: ** rice noodles, rice rolls, sour soup, hanging rice cakes, rice cakes, corn starch, vermicelli, sweet potato noodles, wide noodles, sweet potato starch, glutinous rice dumplings, etc.

The second category is food that needs to be soaked for a long time: such as black fungus, white fungus, etc.

During the production, sales and preparation process, these foods may be contaminated by bacteria and cause mycophenolic acid poisoning if they encounter unsanitary production environments, spoiled raw materials, or high temperature and humidity in storage environments. Source: pixabay

It should be noted that we usually buy various fresh wet noodle foods in vegetable markets or supermarkets, and most of them are weighed in bulk. In addition, the hot and humid environment in summer and autumn makes it very likely that bacteria will grow, which provides a potential opportunity for aflatoxin poisoning.

How to prevent fumonisin poisoning

First of all, let me emphasize the following: aflatoxin is odorless and tasteless, and the appearance, smell and taste of contaminated food are normal.

The word "sour" in "fumonisin" may lead people to mistakenly believe that if a food becomes sour and smelly, it is contaminated. Don't take it for granted. It is difficult for consumers or sellers to distinguish food contaminated by fumonisin from its appearance and smell .

In addition, as mentioned above, fumonisin is extremely heat-resistant. Whether food is boiled in boiling water or stewed at high pressure at a temperature above 100°C, fumonisin cannot be inactivated . Therefore, the key to preventing fumonisin poisoning is strict control before intake.

Source: Pexels

Things to note when purchasing goods: choose regular channels, pay attention to the product's sensory properties, shelf life, and storage conditions, especially for foods sold in bulk, and ask the merchant for information such as the production date.

Things to note when making food: Do not make and eat high-risk fermented rice and flour foods such as sour soup by yourself; Tremella and black fungus should be used immediately after soaking, and the soaking time should not exceed 2 hours. If it exceeds 2 hours, it should be placed in the refrigerator.

Things to note when storing food: Fresh wet powder should be refrigerated after purchase, and it is best to eat it promptly. It is recommended to eat it on the same day; cereal foods should be stored in a cool and ventilated environment, and pay attention to moisture-proof and mildew-proof.

Source: Pexels

It is enjoyable to eat noodles in summer, eat some cold-mixed black fungus to stimulate the appetite and relieve greasiness, and drink some rock sugar and white fungus soup after the meal to be even more refreshing. Before enjoying the delicious food, food safety cannot be ignored.

This tricky opponent, fumonisin, should not be underestimated. We must remember to take precautions before it happens. Diseases come from the mouth, so it is never too much to be cautious.