The General Administration of Customs reminds: Immediately suspend the consumption of Abbott-related infant products!
In mid-to-late February this year, my country's General Administration of Customs issued an announcement reminding consumers to "temporarily refrain from purchasing through any channel" and "immediately suspend consumption" of related infant and toddler products from Abbott Laboratories in the United States.
The announcement shows that on February 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it was investigating complaints of four infants infected with Cronobacter and Salmonella, all of whom ate three products produced by Abbott at a Michigan plant. milk powder, one of which may have died from Cronobacter infection.
All four babies were reported to have consumed formula produced at Abbott's Sturgis, Michigan, plant, the FDA said.
Many parents and mothers were very frightened when they saw this news. After all, there are too many Abbott-related products for infants and young children, and they are also products that some families often buy.
What is Cronobacter?
How dangerous is it?
what should we do?
Today, I'm going to talk to you about this harmful bacteria.
What is Cronobacter?
When it contaminates food, it is difficult to remove completely
Cronobacter sakazakii, also known as Cronobacter sakazakii and Enterobacter sakazakii, exists widely in our natural environment, such as water, soil, plant roots, animal intestines, and even processed foods.
The vitality of Enterobacter sakazakii is very tenacious. It is resistant to cold, heat, drying, acid and alkali, osmotic pressure, and ultraviolet rays. It also has strong resistance to some disinfectants.
And if it is under adverse conditions, it will secrete adhesive polysaccharide to protect itself, so it is difficult to remove it completely after it contaminates food.
It can still survive when the milk powder is brewed with water below 70°C
May cause septicemia, meningitis and other diseases
Infant formula is the main source of infection of E. sakazakii in infants.
Milk powder is not a commercial sterile product, and formula milk powder processing is susceptible to E. sakazakii contamination, especially during drying and canning.
Since Enterobacter sakazakii has stronger resistance to high osmotic pressure than Escherichia coli, it can survive in dry milk powder for a long time.
Moreover, Enterobacter sakazakii has strong heat resistance, and most of them can still survive when the milk powder is prepared with water below 70°C.
Therefore, even if there is only a very small amount of Enterobacter sakazakii contamination in milk powder, it may multiply rapidly and massively during the preparation and placement process, resulting in the occurrence of infant infection.
my country's national standard clearly stipulates that Enterobacter sakazakii should not be detected in dairy products.
Enterobacter sakazakii mainly infects infants, especially premature infants, infants with low birth weight and low immunity, and can cause septicemia, meningitis, necrotizing enterocolitis and other diseases.
Meningitis caused by Enterobacter sakazakii can cause complications such as cerebral infarction, brain abscess, and ventricular encephalitis. Patients often have severe neurological sequelae, and the fatality rate is 40%-80%.
Foreign literature reports that about 4% of meningoencephalitis cases in infants are caused by Enterobacter sakazakii.
In addition, the bacteria can cause infection in the elderly or immunocompromised people.
Daily breastfeeding as a parent
What should we pay more attention to?
First of all, I still want to say, don't panic too much.
In fact, the FDA's food recall system updates various food safety recall information almost every day. This information is more of an early warning reminder, which does not mean that the food is definitely unsafe and has great harm.
Moreover, E. sakazakii has the highest risk of infection in neonates (born 28 days or less) and infants under 2 months of age, especially preterm, under 2.5 kg and immunocompromised infants.
Babies over 2 months, especially over 6 months, have a very low risk of infection.
From the first report in 1958 to 2020, only 120 E. sakazakii infections have been reported worldwide.
Of course, this news event mainly reminds us that we should pay more attention to daily food safety operations:
1. If conditions permit, it is best to breastfeed the baby.
Breast milk is the best, it goes without saying.
Dads should help and support more, such as doing more housework, helping with the baby, cooking more food, so that mothers can relax and breastfeed better.
2. Try to go to regular channels to buy milk powder, you can also choose liquid formula milk.
Formal and qualified powdered formula is safe.
Now there are also liquid formula milk on the market, which is very convenient to carry when going out.
3. If you are worried that there is a problem with the milk powder, you can discard it.
If you suspect that there is something wrong with the milk (such as leaking, leaving it for too long) or you are just worried, then throw it away in time.
4. When preparing milk powder, pay attention to cleanliness.
Be sure to wash your hands carefully before preparing milk powder.
Cups should be sterilized with hot water, and surfaces including work surfaces should be sufficiently clean.
Spoons, pacifiers, pacifiers, feeding bottles, etc. should also pay attention to daily cleaning and disinfection.
milk powder
40°C or 70°C?
Studies have shown that the risk can be significantly reduced if the milk powder is prepared with water at a temperature not lower than 70°C, as hot water at this temperature kills any Enterobacter sakazakii bacteria in the milk powder.
When the water temperature is lower than 70 ℃, the risk of infection will be greatly increased.
Therefore, for safety reasons, some authoritative health agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the British National Health Service (NHS) recommend using water not lower than 70°C to prepare milk powder, and then use running water or cool water to quickly cool down. Give it to the baby, it is best to drink it within 2 hours, it is best to throw it away if it is not finished.
However, some people feel that the water at 70°C is too hot for milk powder, and it needs to be cooled down, which is cumbersome to operate.
Brewing milk powder with water at 40°C can better retain the nutrients in the milk powder. After brewing, you don’t have to wait too long before you can drink it for your baby. You don’t have to let it cool, and the operation is much easier.
So, is it possible to make milk powder with water at 40°C?
As mentioned earlier, babies over 2 months, especially babies over 6 months, have a very low risk of being infected.
Therefore, if your baby is 2 months old, it is also possible to use 40 ℃ water to make milk powder.
Text / Ruan Guangfeng
(Director of Science and Technology Department of Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center)