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Raw oysters, or for that matter, any raw seafood carries a risk for food poisoning. While there is a fascination with eating raw foods, like Sushi, there is risk. That risk includes Norovirus, Vibrio and Hepatitis A. While Norovirus is an aggravation and an inconvenience, Hepatitis A may have lasting effects. Those effects can include long-term liver disease and failure. In some cases it can cause death.

Until now there was no hope for the avid raw shellfish eater. Eat the raw food and take the risk.

Electron beam pasteurization has recently been studied by Texas A & M University as a means of reducing the risk of hepatitis A and Norovirus infections.  The FDA has approved the technology for other forms of seafood poisoning prevention.  While this is not yet commercially approved for shellfish pasteurization, it offers hope.

I have eaten raw oysters, when I was younger and less informed. Since studying food poisoning, I have been very reluctant to do so. I have learned of so many tragic stories. Eating raw seafood is similar to walking across a busy street blind folded. You will be fine some of the time, you risk injury some of the time and you risk death some of the time. Doesn’t seem worth it to me.

Pasteurization was first introduced as a means of reducing bacteria in milk in 1933. It is commonly used for reducing bacteria in fresh fruit juices. The process reduces disease and saves lives. Pasteurization uses temperature to kill the bad bugs. Electronic beam pasteurization is new to the food industry and holds promise.

For those still wanting to walk across the street blindfolded, at least take some precautions.

Dr. H. Stueven

Founder

DiningGrades.com

Physicians may finally be able to differentiate between the stomach flu and food poisoning. Luminex^R has gained FDA approval for a test that can detect 11 common bacterial, viral and parasitic causes of infectious diarrhea.

How often have you heard someone say, “ I must have eaten something that caused me to get sick” or “ I just had a touch of the stomach flu”? It has been difficult for physicians to know for sure what the patient has, so they, like you have been simply guessing based upon history or symptoms.  Both conditions can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, pain and fever. Some forms of food poisoning can cause blood in the stool from invasion of the bowel wall but both can cause traces of blood in the vomitus or the stool. This test changes that and should increase accuracy in diagnosis.

The test detects Campylobacter, Clostridium difficile toxin, E coli, Salmonella, Shigella, and Shiga-like toxin, 2 viruses (norovirus and rotavirus A) and 2 parasites (Cryptosporidium and Giardia with a reported 90% accuracy. These pathogens cause the majority of food poisoning. This becomes a great diagnostic tool. Notably absent from the list is E.Coli, a very important and toxic bacteria. As well there some very infrequent but potentially infections not tested. So it will not be 100% inclusive.

Next time you wonder if it is the stomach flu or food poisoning, ask your doctor to run a simple test and in 5 hours you will know. Perhaps with this rapid test we will be able to gather better statistics on the incidence of food poisoning.

This is not a commercial and we don’t have any financial interests in the company.

Dr. H. Stueven

Founder, DiningGrades.com

That is exactly what happened to over 200 people who ate at the Altas Tapa Restaurant in Manhattan late March 2013. Allegedly an employee, preparing a dessert, had hepatitis A. Perhaps as many as 3000 people were infected. Some were fellow employees. So the health department advised selected persons to become vaccinated against hepatitis A. Unfortunately the vaccination may take weeks to months to effectively prevent the disease. Time will tell whether anyone gets sick from this senseless exposure.

While I don’t know whether the employee was actively sick at the time, food preparer illness is a real source of food poisoning. The hepatitis A virus is shed in the stool. If the food handler doesn’t adequately wash their hands, doesn’t adequately wear gloves, doesn’t protect the gloves from contamination, the food becomes contaminated. Anyone eating the contaminated food is at risk of getting the disease.

The incubation period for hepatitis A ranges from 2 to 6 weeks. So an infected person may be without symptoms for that period and then develop nausea, fatigue or pain. These symptoms are hardly diagnostic and potentially may be confused with other diseases. Of course the hallmark is jaundice but some are affected more than others. For those at real risk or the young, the old and those already sick it could become deadly.

And sadly, it MAY have been prevented with some simple rules:

· Strict and enforced employee illness policy.

· Strict and enforced employee hand washing policy.

· Strict and enforced employee glove use policy.

You decide. What kind of place do you want to eat at?

Dr. H. Stueven

Founder DiningGrades.com

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