Poisoned after eating homemade food? How can we prevent the Heilongjiang incident?

Some time ago, the news was dominated by the incident of a family of nine in Heilongjiang suffering from food poisoning during a dinner party.

After analyzing the causes and ruling out poisoning by other people, the first thing to be suspected was our "old friend" aflatoxin.

But a few days after the incident, the rumor was debunked. It was found that the poisoning was not caused by the aflatoxin that everyone is familiar with.

Instead, it is caused by another bacterium that is not well known to the public, namely, fumonisin, which is produced by contamination from Pseudomonas cerebrovenenans.

In fact, it is not the first time that food poisoning has been caused by fumonisin contamination, but it has rarely occurred in recent years. However, its toxicity is no less than that of aflatoxin.

This time, Dog will talk to you about it, and you should pay proper attention to it in the future.

Next you will see:

1. What is fumonisin?

2. Why does fumonisin toxin appear in our diet?

3. How to prevent situations similar to fumonisin in the diet?

Speaking of fumonisin, it is actually a small molecule fatty acid. It is a toxin that can cause food poisoning produced by the fumonisin subspecies of the genus Pseudomonas cereus.

It is also the main reason why food is infected with Pseudomonas cerebrovenans and has a high mortality rate after being consumed.

Bacillus flavus not only has strong biological activity, but also has strong heat resistance.

High temperature sterilization can easily kill Pseudomonas cocovenenans, but the toxin it produces cannot be destroyed even by boiling water at 100°C or cooking in a pressure cooker.

The toxins it produces can cause serious damage to important organs of the human body, such as the liver, kidneys, and brain.

Generally, if the ingestion is small, mild poisoning will cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, and general weakness.

In severe cases, there will be symptoms such as liver enlargement, vomiting blood, hematuria, and even convulsions and coma. And according to current research, no specific medicine has been found yet, so its mortality rate is also very high.

But how did this toxin get into the food of this family in Heilongjiang?

In fact, when the poisoning incident at a dinner party in Heilongjiang occurred, the first thing many people thought of was aflatoxin poisoning.

But if anyone takes a closer look, they will find that this is not an ordinary toxin poisoning.

Because the food that caused the poisoning this time was called "sour soup".

What is Suantangzi? Many people in the south probably don't know. It is a kind of thick noodles made from corn water mill fermentation.

This family in Northeast China was poisoned because they used sour soup dough that had been frozen for a year to make breakfast.

Some people think that it is because of the long freezing time. In fact, the problem is that the grains were already contaminated by the Bacillus cereus subspecies during the soaking and fermentation process for dozens of days.

Although it is subsequently frozen and boiled at high temperatures, the residual toxins remain, eventually leading to food poisoning.

In the later stage of the investigation, a large amount of fumonisin was indeed found in the stomachs of the poisoned people, so the claim of fumonisin poisoning was confirmed.

So what about Pseudomonas cocovenenans? How can we prevent it from infecting our food?

Different from the environment in which aflatoxin is produced, infection with Pseudomonas cocovenenans mainly occurs in fermented cornmeal products, spoiled white fungus, black fungus and some spoiled starch products.

These foods have one thing in common before they are infected: they need to undergo a long period of fermentation or soaking before being eaten. Once infected with the Bacillus fumigatus subspecies during this process, poisoning is likely to occur.

Similar incidents of aflatoxin poisoning have actually occurred in previous years, but they mostly occurred in the north, which is also related to some local food characteristics.

The following are some points that I have summarized, which I believe can help you prevent similar incidents of fumonisin to a certain extent:

1. Do not produce or sell fermented rice and flour products and be cautious when eating them

In fact, since 2010, fermented rice flour poisoning has caused 37 deaths.

In addition to the sour soup this time, the same fermentation process is used for the stinky residues and gege beans in the north, and the diaojiangba and rice noodles in the south.

Therefore, if the fermentation environment conditions are not in place, it is easy to cause disease.

2. Do not eat black fungus that has been soaked for a long time

Dried black fungus should not be soaked for too long, especially not overnight.

If you notice an odor after soaking or feel slime when you touch it, please stop eating it.

Because the fungus has been soaked for a long time, it is easy for its quality to deteriorate and produce biological toxins, which may be as serious as this sour soup incident.

3. Don’t eat potatoes that have sprouted and turned green

Potatoes that have sprouted or whose skin has turned green should not be eaten because they have produced solanine, a biological toxin that is highly irritating and corrosive to the stomach and intestines.

If you don't eat the potatoes you bought for the time being, you must keep them away from light in a relatively ventilated and dry place.

Once you find that it has sprouted or the skin has turned green, it is better to throw it away than to take the risk of removing the sprouts and green parts and continuing to eat it.

4. Do not eat moldy or spoiled food

Although this poisoning incident was not caused by aflatoxin, its high frequency of occurrence and the extremely strong nature of the toxin,

Gougou thinks it is necessary to tell everyone how to prevent aflatoxin.

First of all, moldy foods, especially those with high starch content, are more likely to breed aflatoxin.

Therefore, if foods such as rice, peanuts, corn, beans, etc. have a moldy smell or properties, it is best not to eat them.

In addition, although chopsticks and cutting boards themselves will not breed aflatoxin, they are prone to residues in the gaps of the materials due to long-term contact with food.

So this is also an area where everyone needs to pay more attention.

Okay, that’s all for this issue about food poisoning. If you have better suggestions, please add them in the comment section and share them with everyone.

Summarize:

1. What is fumonisin?

Aflatoxin is a toxin produced by the bacterium Pseudomonas cereus subspecies that can cause food poisoning.

It has the characteristics of high temperature resistance and strong activity.

2. Why does fumonisin toxin appear in our diet?

The fermented rice flour subspecies of the genus Pseudomonas cerebrovenans is easily propagated in fermented rice flour, and the Northeastern family members who were poisoned were eating "sour soup", a famous fermented noodle food in the north.

3. How to prevent situations similar to fumonisin in the diet?

1) Do not produce or sell fermented rice and flour products, and be cautious when eating them

2) Do not eat black fungus that has been soaked for a long time

3) Do not eat potatoes that have sprouted and turned green

4) Do not eat moldy or spoiled food