Enoki Mushrooms – Food is among the essential requirements of the human body. Nobody can survive without food for a longer period, but it is also known to cause several diseases.
Yes, you can experience a huge number of diseases, including listeria infection, after eating contaminated food. People who are considered to have a weakened immune system, pregnant women, and everyone about the age of 65 are more vulnerable to developing severe complications from listeria infection.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest every American in the United States check for listeria outbreaks regularly. The CDC is known to update its website for any new list of area outbreaks.
Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated on its official website that a type of mushroom is causing listeria infection in states like Nevada and Michigan.
Enoki Mushrooms Causing Listeria Infection
Soon after the updates on some cheese and deli meat, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that enoki mushrooms are also linked with one outbreak of listeria in 2 different states of the United States.
On the morning of 17th November 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention alerted Americans that enoki mushrooms are causing listeria infection. Till now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported different cases of listeria infection in 2 different states.
Enoki mushrooms are white with long and thin stems. These mushrooms are usually sold in packs of bunches with a sealed pack that is plastic. They are very popular in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese food items. If you eat food items such as soups, hot pots, and stir-fried dishes, then you should be very careful as it is causing listeria infection in the country.
It is not the first time that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that enoki mushrooms are causing listeria infection. Back in 2020, the CDC reported that enoki mushrooms had caused its first known outbreak of listeria infection in the country.
Back then, enoki mushrooms, known to cause the first infection of listeria, were imported from Korea. Since that day, health officials in the United States have been collecting samples of enoki mushrooms and found listeria in several of those samples. As a result, we had more than 20 recalls of enoki mushrooms.
What should you do?
Now, the main question is what you should be doing to ensure your safety against these outbreaks. As you might already be aware, listeria infection is a very harmful condition for pregnant women, people above the age of 65, and those who have been declared immune compromised.
- The first thing you should be doing right away is not eating raw enoki mushrooms. Even if you have to eat mushrooms, you should make sure you are cooking them thoroughly.
- Even though the list area can grow on foods kept in refrigerators, you can easily kill it by heating your food at a good temperature.
- Another thing you can do right away keeps your enoki mushrooms separate from other food items. The separation of your food items can help you contain the impact of listeria on limited food items.
- Even if you are cooking your food at a high temperature, it might not be enough. You should make sure you are washing your hands and cleaning everything where enoki mushrooms are kept.
- Lastly, you should learn about all the symptoms of listeria infection and consult with your healthcare provider if you are experiencing any of them.
If you are a restaurant, then the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention do not recommend you serve raw Enoki mushrooms to any of your customers.
Kindly do not garnish any of your dishes with these mushrooms or add raw Enoki mushrooms on top of the soups. You should also keep your raw Enoki mushrooms separate from any other food items in your kitchen. Always follow the guidelines of the Food and Drug Administration for safe handling and cleaning.
Recall of Enoki Mushrooms
Soon after the announcement of Enoki mushrooms coursing listeria infection, the Food and Drug Administration of the United States announced that they had asked several importers to recall Enoki mushrooms known to cause infection.
Brands like Green Day produce have already recalled its Enoki mushroom packages sold between September to October. If you have any unopened packages of enoki mushrooms, then we highly recommend you take a look at the brand and try to return them.
The Food and Drug Administration is yet to release the complete list of old brands that are all going to recall their mushrooms. Till then, you should not consume Enoki mushrooms as it is known to cause the infection.
We will update the list of all the brands that will recall their product as soon as we receive them.
Symptoms of Listeria
Till now, you are only hearing about the infection of listeria, but not many people are talking about its symptoms. That is why we are here to discuss all the signs of Listeria infection.
Without the discussion of symptoms, treatment and diagnosis of listeria is not going to be possible. At the same time, you might not be able to let your healthcare provider know about your condition.
As per the Centers for Disease Control and prevention of the United States, people who develop listeria infection can experience symptoms like
- Fever
- Muscle aches
- Nausea
- Chill
- Diarrhea
These symptoms might not develop as soon as you eat any contaminated food. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe that you can develop symptoms associated with the condition even after 20 or 25 days of eating the contaminated food.
At the same time, the above-given symptoms are just common. If listeria infection starts spreading to your nervous system, you might experience symptoms such as headache, stiffness, loss of balance, new confusion, and changes in alertness.
Kindly keep yourself up to date with any new outbreaks of listeria in your state. If you start experiencing any of the above-given symptoms after you have consumed the contaminated food, do not forget to call your healthcare provider right away.
Diagnosis and treatment options for listeria infection
Pregnant women, people above the age of 65, and those who have weak immune systems are among the most vulnerable to developing severe complications due to listeria infection.
If you also fall into the above-given categories, then you should be very careful if you have consumed any food item known to cause the outbreak of listeria infection.
We have already discussed the symptoms of listeria infection. If you believe you have any symptoms associated with the disease, then you should consult with your healthcare provider right away.
When you consult your healthcare provider for the diagnosis of listeria infection, your healthcare provider might suggest you go for a blood test as it is among the most effective tests to detect listeria infection. Your healthcare provider might also suggest you go for a sample of urine or spinal fluids.
Treatment
Similar to several other infections, your healthcare provider might suggest you go for a variety of treatment options depending on the severity of the symptoms.
One of the best things about listeria infection is that most people with mild symptoms might not even require any treatment to get better. People with severe infections are going to require medicine and medical assistance to recover from the symptoms.
Those who are in the high-risk category should take good care of themselves during the infection. Listeria infection can also cause death if you are not taking the disease seriously and consulting treatment options with your healthcare provider.
If your symptoms are mild, and your healthcare provider has suggested you stay home and rest, You should make sure you are resting at home and drinking plenty of fluids.
Complications of Listeria Infection
Before we completely wrap our session up, let’s take a quick look at the complications of listeria infection.
Healthcare experts in the United States just want everyone not to leave the infection of listeria Untreated. People in different risk categories can experience severe complications.
For example, pregnant women can experience pregnancy loss or premature birth due to illness caused by listeria infection. If you are pregnant, then you should consult the probability of listeria with your healthcare provider right away.
At the same time, listeria is also known to cause death, and the United States has reported several of those in 2022.
How to protect yourself from listeria infection?
One of the best ways to prevent the infection of listeria is to keep yourself updated with all the latest outbreaks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently updated its website and mentioned that Enoki mushrooms are causing listeria infection throughout the nation. If you have consumed enoki mushrooms in recent days, you should consult the probability of infection with your healthcare provider right away.