For the past couple of months, headlines entail recalls of many products including ice cream and hummus. Public paranoia worsened when three were confirmed dead from eating ice cream and the culprit is Listeriosis or Listeria.
CBS News reports that Blue Bell has recalled more than 25 of its ice cream products in the last month over abundance of precaution. Last month, three died in Kansas over ingesting their products. They linked the contamination to their plant in their Oklahoma plant. As of Friday, a total of eight people got sick upon consuming Blue Bell products.
Meanwhile, Sabra Dipping Co, is recalling a total of 30,000 cases of its Classic Hummus due to possible listeria contamination this week, though no illnesses have been linked to that recall, reports Yahoo Health News.
Why does listeria cause such massive recall on major products? Listeria is a serious bacterial infection that may cause many symptoms including diarrhea, fever, muscle aches, and can be fatal. It thrives in soil and water and can be carried by animals. Usually, it can be found in processed foods and meats. Dairy products are also good grounds for these bacteria.
It usually attacks people of all ages but the elderly, people with suppressed immune systems and children are more vulnerable to the complications caused by listeria. The incubation period lasts for 3 to 70 days until symptoms may appear, Food Safety reports.
Why is this disease deadly? It is well known than other microogranisms that cause diseases. Other diseases related to contamination is not as deadly as listeria.
"It can get out of the intestine and into the blood stream m and can cause encephalitis, and if a woman is pregnant it can precipitate a miscarriage," Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University Medical Center told CBS News.
Furthermore, listeria, can thrive in cold temperatures so it is more dangerous if the product is in the refrigerator like that of ice cream products.