Foodborne illness

During the Holiday season, one of our favorite habits is meals with our family and friends.

The following tips are about preventing foodborne illnesses, that is, illnesses caused by eating contaminated food.

Authorities are examining a possible link of a fire last week at a food factory with a case of mass food poisoning (gastroenteritis) of elementary school pupils in Lamia, central Greece. 

Strains of the staphylococcus bacteria have been detected in samples of school lunches that allegedly caused mass food poisoning among dozens of primary schoolchildren in the city of Lamia last week.

According to state broadcaster ERT, staph was identified in ten food samples sent to the regional National Public Health Organization laboratory in Thessaly.

Thirty-seven residents of Andritsaina-Krestena municipality in Ilia, in the Peloponnese, suffered food poisoning on Easter Monday, according to local reports on Thursday. 

Stavros Leventis, deputy director of the local health center, reported that individuals aged 15-90 sought medical assistance with typical symptoms. 

Officials from the Agriculture Ministry will conduct food inspections at restaurants, hotels, cafes and other eateries until Sept. 8 to ensure that products offered at those venues comply with health regulations.

The inspections, which started on Aug. 21, will be carried out simultaneously in all 81 provinces of the country.

With Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, around the corner, an infectious disease specialist warns people to follow meat hygiene practices carefully to avoid contracting bacterial or virus infections.

Prof. Dr. Yaşar Bayındır, an infectious diseases specialist, has listed the most important things to consider in the days before Eid al-Adha.

11 children were admitted to the hospital in Petrich with suspected food poisoning, their condition is good.

The results of the microbiological examination are awaited and the children will most likely be discharged from the hospital in Petrich within three days, infectious disease specialist Dr. Katya Pramatarova told the National Television.

The associate Professor of Respiratory Medicine, Mr Nikos Tzanakis, spoke to MEGA channel about the appearance of hepatitis in children in Europe and its correlation with Covid-19.

Mr. Tzanakis referred to hepatitis and stressed that it has nothing to do with Covid-19.

To date, no cases of food poisoning have been recorded in Greece from Salmonela enteritidis ST11, which was recently detected in EU countries and cost the lives of two people from the consumption of raw eggs, as Mr.

The importance of training for farmers has come to the fore after several people were recently hospitalized in Turkey due to food poisoning suspected to have originated from spinach mixed with toxic weed.