Food poisoning: be careful with fondue
All content is checked by medical journalists.MunichFor many, it's a dear tradition to say goodbye to the year: the cozy fondue with friends or family. But cooking raw chicken at the table has its pitfalls, food poisoning occurs again and again. You can use a few simple tricks to protect yourself.
The connection between fondue and poisoning in Switzerland was striking. Because fondues are particularly popular there - especially at the end of the year. At the same time, many of the 7,000 to 8,000 cases of food poisoning with the Campylobacter bacterium occur there every year on exactly the same period: the days between Christmas and New Year.
For a Swiss research group led by Daniel Mäusezahl, it was the reason to take a closer look at this correlation. They asked 289 people who were known to be affected and 898 healthy comparators over the phone and conducted standardized interviews with them, which dealt primarily with possible risk factors for gastrointestinal infections.
And indeed: Anyone who had taken part in a fondue with broth increased their risk of catching Campylobacter by a factor of four. Overall, almost half of the Campylobacter poisoning “between the years” was due to this source of infection.
Protect eating compartments
At the same time, however, the study also showed a simple measure with which the risk of infection can be reduced: instead of storing the raw meat on their own plate as usual, fondue eaters should use separate bowls for it. This means that the juice of the raw meat, which may contain gastrointestinal germs, cannot mix with the prepared food - the pathogens die when heated in the brewing bath.
Just using special fondue plates reduces the risk of food poisoning. Dividing them into several compartments reduced the risk of infection to a fifth in the Swiss study. The bacteria also did not survive extreme cold. "Those who had frozen the meat before consumption also reduced the risk of infection," reveal the researchers.
Seven days of malade
After Salmonella, Campylobacter bacteria are the second most common cause of bacterial gastrointestinal infections in Germany. Illness is very uncomfortable for those affected because they suffer from severe diarrhea, stomach pain and fever. Some also feel nausea and vomiting. Only after an average of seven days does the ghost end again.
In most cases, insufficiently heated or contaminated poultry meat is identified as a source of infection. Only recently it was recommended by American scientists not to shower the chicken under the tap before processing, as the sprayed droplets can literally spread the bacteria in the kitchen. In principle, the following also applies: Do not use the same cutting board and knife for poultry and other ingredients when cooking. (lh)
Source: P. Bless et al. A tradition and an epidemic: determinants of the campylobacteriosis winter peak in Switzerland. European Journal of Epidemiology, 2014; DOI: 10.1007 / s10654-014-9917-0
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