Why listeria outbreaks may appear to be more frequent
The most recent listeria outbreak impacted frozen waffles.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - First it was Boar’s Head, now frozen waffles. Listeria is causing a lot of recalls right now.
But what is listeria, and what makes it dangerous?
It seems outbreaks related to foodborne illnesses are becoming more frequent. On a weekly basis, Bryan Mofitt, says the outbreaks haven’t impacted him much.
Mofitt said, “I have certain things I like to buy each week and I like to stay towards those items.”
However, they did change his lunch plans today. “I definitely chose to eat somewhere else today because of the E. coli outbreak,” he said.
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E. coli is similar to listeria as they can both cause fever, vomiting and more, but Dr. William Schaffner with Vanderbilt Medicine shared what makes listeria unique.
“Listeria can grow in the cold, so if it contaminates the food stuff and you put it in your refrigerator, it can continue to multiply.”
Most other bacteria require warm environments to grow, and that’s why people are seeing the most recent listeria outbreak impact something like frozen waffles, according to Schaffner.
Schaffner said, “When you cook food, normally, that will kill the bacteria. [It] can contaminate food we don’t cook, lettuce for example or fruits or processed meats that we just put on a sandwich and eat and so that’s where the hazard is.”
Dr. Schaffner says washing your produce can reduce your risk but not completely eliminate it. He said “the other tricky thing about listeria is that once you eat it the interval between your getting the infection and becoming sick can be quite long.”
Schaffner suggests to do the same things to prevent eating any kind of germ that can cause sickness.
“Always wash your hands while you are preparing food and wash off all your cutting sources where its listeria salmonella or E. coli we want to be as safe as possible.”
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