Not long ago, Jixi City, Heilongjiang Province died of food poisoning in Jidong County due to family dinners, which attracted people's attention, and the culprit was " sour soup ". Sour soup is a traditional delicacy in the Northeast. It is not poisonous in itself. Why does it cause such a great toxic effect?
sour soup is a kind of rough noodles made with corn water milling and fermented. It has a long history of consumption. In the early stages of the incident, many people speculated that it was poisoning due to the presence of Aspergillus aflatoxin in the food. According to the news released by the Food Department of the Heilongjiang Provincial Health Commission, the sour soup consumed in this dinner was made by family members and was frozen in the refrigerator for nearly a year. After epidemiological investigation and sampling and testing by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a high concentration of m yeast acid was detected in corn flour. At the same time, it can also be detected in the patient's gastric juice. It was initially identifiable as a food poisoning incident caused by the contamination of Pseudomonas coconut, which was produced by the yeast acid.
What is Pseudomonas coconut?
In the 1970s and 1980s, Chinese researchers discovered the subspecies of Pseudomonas coconut yeast in Northeast China, known as Pseudomonas coconut or Pseudomonas coconut, which is Gram-negative Brebacterium. Pseudomonas coconut is a facultative anaerobic bacteria that reproduces very quickly in humid environments of 22-37℃, so food poisoning caused by this bacteria mostly occurs in summer and autumn. Pseudomonas coconut itself is not toxic, but it can produce the deadly toxin - juicylic acid. Miyazaprol acid has strong heat resistance and can still maintain toxicity when treated at 120℃ for 1 hour, but its chemical structure can be destroyed under sunlight or ultraviolet rays, resulting in loss of toxicity.
electron microscopic picture of Pseudomonas coconut (Photo source: Journal of Microbiology)
Pseudomonas coconut causes obvious symptoms after food poisoning. The poisoned person has an acute disease. The incubation period is generally 30 minutes to 12 hours, and the longest can reach 3 days. Rice acid mainly acts on organs such as liver, brain, and kidney. Therefore, after poisoning, the main symptoms of the digestive system, urinary system and nervous system, such as upper abdominal discomfort, nausea, vomiting, mild diarrhea, general weakness, etc.; severe patients will experience liver enlargement, vomiting of blood, unclear consciousness, fainting and even death. Generally, there will be no fever. There is no specific medicine for riyacinthic acid. The condition and condition after recovery are related to the amount of toxins consumed. Generally speaking, the more toxins consumed, the more serious the symptoms will be. Due to the lack of specific drugs, the mortality rate of poisoning cases is high.
In recent years, it has not been uncommon for incidents of erythromycin in the accidental ingestion of Pseudomonas coconut. Pseudomonas coconut is widely present in environmental soil. Improper food ingredients or improper handling can easily lead to bacterial infection. For example, after the soaking time of black fungus exceeds 24 hours, nutrients are abundant, and microorganisms will grow on their surface. In 2016, a Zhejiang couple was both hospitalized because they had eaten fried eggs with black fungus that had been soaked for two days. In 2017, a girl from Liaoning also fell into a coma because she had been soaked for two days and was sent to the ICU. Therefore, when preparing food, you should eat it as needed and as soon as possible, and do not create opportunities for microorganisms to grow on their surface.
(Picture from the Internet)
What is aflatoxin?
Everyone is not unfamiliar with aflatoxin, and is even "notorious". So in the early stage of the sour soup incident, many people speculated that the culprit was aflatoxin.
Aflatoxin is a toxic substance produced by certain fungi (molds) and is widely distributed around the world. They can contaminate food crops and pose a serious health threat to humans and livestock. Aflatoxins also put heavy burdens on the economy, with an estimated annual contamination of more than 25% of food crops around the world. Human exposure to aflatoxins mainly comes from nuts and cereals. Currently, the two most common fungi that produce aflatoxin are Aspergillus aflatoxins and Aspergillus parasitic.
Aflatoxin is stable in properties and it will only start to decompose after heating to above 280°C. Therefore, general heating is not easy to destroy its structure. Eating aflatoxin can cause cancer. In 2017, the World Health Organization International Cancer Research Agency has listed it on the list of strong carcinogens. High doses of aflatoxin can lead to acute poisoning, which can often damage the liver and be life-threatening.The main symptoms are acute liver failure, jaundice, drowsiness, nausea and even death. In addition to humans, animals (such as chickens, cattle, pigs, etc.) will also be affected by aflatoxins, which will not only bring serious economic losses, but will also endanger the health of consumers.
Aflavin (Picture from the Internet)
Aflavin is easy to grow in a humid and moderate temperature environment. As long as the following preventive measures are taken, you can keep it away: do not eat moldy peanuts, corn and bitter nuts, buy ingredients from proper sources, and clean kitchen utensils more.
Microorganisms that are prone to food poisoning
Food poisoning is mostly caused by the microorganisms in the food we eat and may not be damaged by cooking. The most common types of bacteria that cause food poisoning include:
In addition to these bacteria, eating fungi (mushrooms) can also cause food poisoning. Currently, there are more than 800 types of poisonous mushrooms in the world, of which 480 are in my country. There are estimated to be about 200 poisoning incidents in my country. Poisonous mushrooms are mostly distributed in the tropical and subtropical areas, so mushroom poisoning incidents in my country occur most in Yunnan. After eating poisonous mushrooms, symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, and even hallucinations often occur. Amanita, Silkyum, Red Mushroom, etc. are all common types of poisonous mushrooms. Therefore, don’t pick and cook mushrooms in the wild for random purposes, and it is the healthiest to buy them through regular channels.
Beautiful poisonous mushrooms - Amanita (picture from the Internet)
An old saying goes well, "Sickness comes from the mouth." Keeping the food in mind, ensuring the safety of food sources, reducing homemade food, and washing hands frequently will reduce the occurrence of poisoning incidents. I hope everyone can eat happily and healthily.
What other microorganisms have you heard of that cause food poisoning? Welcome to leave a message to communicate together.
References:
1. https://microbiologysociety.org/why-microbiology-matters/what-is-microbiology/microbes-and-food/food-poisoning.html
2. https://www.who.int/foodsafety/FSDigest_Aflatoxins_EN.pdf
3. CCTV.com "The sour soup poisoning incident is initially qualitative. Why does a home-cooked delicacy bloom "the flower of evil"? 》
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aflatoxin
5. The official account of the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences "Does poisonous mushrooms be bright? 》
Source: Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Source: Voice of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
