Listeriosis Outbreak Linked to Vegan Cheese

— Raw nut-based items are ignored sources of foodborne health problem

by
Katherine KahnStaff Writer, MedPage Today
April 17, 2024

A break out of listeriosis in a number of European nations was connected to vegan cheese made from raw nut milk, scientists reported.

The break out took place in between April and December 2022 and included 8 individuals in France, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, in-depth Marc Lecuit, MD, PhD, of the Institut Pasteur in Paris, and coworkers in a correspondence to the New England Journal of Medicine

This is the very first time that vegan cheese items have actually been connected with Listeria monocytogenesLecuit informed MedPage Today in an e-mail.

L. monocytogenes “can infect veggies such as nuts utilized to make these vegan cheese alternatives, which are generally not pasteurized or sanitized throughout processing,” Lecuit stated, keeping in mind that a current research study discovered that nut-based milk options are in fact more favorable to development of L. monocytogenes than bovine milk.

A representative from the FDA validated with MedPage Today that they have “not yet found a break out of L. monocytogenes with a link to vegan/plant-based cheese in the United States,” however that there have actually been a couple of break outs of Salmonella related to cashews or cashew items. In 2021, a multistate break out of Salmonella was connected to raw cashew brie

In the European listeriosis break out, 4 pregnant females in France provided with preterm shipment (mean pregnancy of 32 weeks) and a 38-year old individual with jeopardized immune function established meningoencephalitis. The other cases consisted of a 3-year-old kid in Belgium, an individual in Germany who established pregnancy-associated sepsis, and a maternal-neonatal case of neonatal meningitis in the Netherlands.

L. monocytogenes medical isolates from the impacted people were discovered to be genetically associated with those from vegan cheeses and their production environment. All impacted individuals had direct exposure to the vegan cheeses, Lecuit and coworkers composed. This triggered an item recall and a health advisory released by the French federal government alerting customers about the danger of listeriosis from vegan cheeses.

Recently, listeriosis break outs in the U.S. have actually been associated not just with soft dairy cheeses Likewise with a wide array of other foodsconsisting of deli cheeses and meats, ice cream, fruits, packaged salad greens, enoki mushrooms, and prepared chicken.

Lecuit stated that vegan cheese items are frequently promoted as an option to dairy items for pregnant individuals and others at greatest threat for listeriosis, who are encouraged to prevent unpasteurized soft dairy cheesessuch as queso fresco or brie.

“In basic, existing medical suggestions for pregnant ladies … do not cover these vegan cheese items,” Lecuit mentioned. The CDC does not particularly point out raw nut-based cheeses or raw nut milks as foods individuals at high danger for listeriosis need to prevent.

“This report will assist experts understand this threat and notify their clients. It will likewise ideally alert vegan food manufacturers of the dangers related to Listeria monocytogenes,” Lecuit stated.

In the European Union, “vegan cheese alternatives are currently covered by food security requirements in European guidelines,” Lecuit stated, “however the reported break out for a brand-new food has actually highlighted to food service operators the truth of this brand-new danger and the requirement to effectively think about the microbiological threat of Listeria monocytogenes.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture needs that all almonds to be consumed in the U.S. should be pasteurized and all industrial plant-based non-dairy drinks need to be pasteurized or ultrapasteurizedItems made from raw nuts or raw nut milks still posture a danger of bacterial contamination. Pasteurization eliminates L. monocytogenes and other germs however even pasteurized items can be a source of infection if production locations are polluted.