ANSES records an increase in cases in France.
As good as it is, cold meats can be risky for the body. Without demonizing its consumption, prudence remains of rigor with some, as the National Agency for Food Security (ANSES) recalls in a press release. The risk here is that of hepatitis E, a disease that can “Sometimes generate serious complications of up to death, especially in sensitive people such as people with liver disease or pregnant women” explains the ANSES.
Hepatitis E is a disease caused by a virus whose target organ is the liver. It is monitored by the French health authorities which identify around 1000 symptomatic cases per year (many are asymptomatic). The transmission of the virus is mainly done by the ingestion of water or contaminated foods. Water contamination concerns low -level hygiene countries. In industrialized countries, cases are associated with the ingestion of contaminated products from an animal carrying the virus: for example, meat and boar, pork and deer consumed or insufficiently cooked.
“In France, it is essentially products based on raw, fresh or semi-dry pork liver, which are implicated” informs ANSES. The raw pork liver is for example present in the dry and fresh liver sausages, the dried salted liver, liver dumplings or even the Figatelli. “All foods containing raw pork liver (Figatelli, raw, fresh or dry pork sausages, liver dumplings) are risky foods and should not be consumed raw” recommends authority. You have to wash your hands well before and after handling this type of cold meats. ANSES also recalls that “Products from laundry pigs and piglets should be consumed cooked at heart”.
The incubation of the hepatitis E virus is long, around 6 to 8 weeks. When the disease is symptomatic, “it can manifest itself by symptoms such as jaundice, muscle pain, headache or even fever, nausea and vomitingsignificant fatigue, abdominal pain, dark urine“We explained Prof. Christophe Bureau, hepato-gastroenterologist in a previous article. In the event of doubt, consult a doctor.
