Deadly brain-eating parasite is found in ‘contaminated' salad bags sold in UK supermarkets – 7 symptoms to watch out for
The popular ready-to-eat product sold across UK supermarkets has been associated with a rise in food poisoning cases.
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Research carried out by the journal Eurosurveillance highlighted the contamination fears reported across 10 European countries, including the UK.
This came after over 4% of the leaves in salad samples, tested between October 2021 and September 2022, were found to be contaminated with toxoplasma gondii oocysts.
"The parasite Toxoplasma gondii can cause severe disease in humans," the research said.
"People can acquire the parasite by eating raw or undercooked infected meat or unwashed fruits or vegetables contaminated with the parasite.
"We wanted to investigate T. gondii in commercial ready-to eat (RTE) salads in European countries to estimate the importance of these food products as sources of T. gondii."
The bacteria, which can be passed on through contact with cat faeces, has been known to contaminate food and water.
This makes salad that is washed or watered with dirty water a prime place for bacteria to grow.
According to research cited by Science Alert, this bacteria "can seriously disrupt the brain function of intermediate hosts, potentially including humans".
The National Institute of Health previously reported that half of the UK population show signs of past infection by the age of 50.
They added that once acquired, these parasites remain in human tissues for life.
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Health risks
This can cause a problem later in life for people who have a weakened immune system, often a result cancer treatments or immunosuppressant drugs.
The Food Standards Agency recommended the best action to take to combat this outbreak.
"[Always] wash fruit and vegetables with water before you eat them to make sure that they are clean," the experts advised.
"You should wash them under a running tap, or in a bowl of fresh water, making sure to rub their skin under the water."
While toxoplasmosis is not usually serious and normally gets better on its own, the NHS highlighted that it can cause serious problems in certain situations.
This includes if you get it while you're pregnant or have a weakened immune system .
If you have a weakened immune system toxoplasmosis may cause problems with your eyes, brain, heart, or lungs.
And if you experience more severe symptoms such as confusion, blurred vision, or slurred speech, you should also seek medical help.
Positive samples across Europe
Samples of the leaves were collected in the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, and Spain as well as the UK.
Majority of the positive samples were collected in winter and packaged in the UK, France, Portugal, Spain, and Denmark.
Scientists have urged for better control measures to help protect prevent infection.
"This is particularly relevant since ready-to-eat salads are intended to be consumed raw without any further treatment by the consumer," they pointed out.
"Future work should investigate presence of [the parasite] in different steps of the ready-to-eat production to minimise infection risk for humans."
Rise in food poisoning cases
The warning follows alerts relating to a significant rise in serious food poisoning cases.
The latest annual data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) showed that Campylobacter infections increased by 17% between 2023 and 2014 - from 60,055 to 70,352.
According to UKHSA, this represents the highest number of cases recorded in the past decade.
Meanwhile, Salmonella infections also reached a decade high, according to data.
They rose by with a 17% as well, from 8,872 cases in 2023 to 10,388 cases in 2024.
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