The egg yolk pie, a national snack and even a favorite of internet celebrities, has also collapsed?

Review expert: Wang Guoyi, Postdoctoral Fellow in Nutrition and Food Safety, China Agricultural University

As a pastry that is frequently eaten by most people and even the "Kekexili Internet Celebrity Wolf" can't get enough of, egg yolk pie has recently become a hot topic - "A certain brand of egg yolk pie was detected to contain pathogenic bacteria." Is the reputation of egg yolk pie going to "collapse"?

On January 3, 2024, the Korean Food and Drug Safety Administration issued a statement saying that Staphylococcus aureus, which can cause food poisoning, was detected in the egg yolk pie products manufactured by the brand's fourth Cheongju factory. The relevant company also took remedial measures, suspending the sale of the products involved and recalling them, and then destroying them in batches.

Source: News photo/short video website

In response, the Chinese agent said that the products in question were produced and sold in South Korea, and that the domestic company was independently operated. The egg yolk pies produced and sold did not have any quality issues, so everyone can put their minds at ease. These dangerous egg yolk pies will not affect us.

So how harmful is it to your health to eat food that has Staphylococcus aureus? What other foods are prone to this problem? Today, let's learn about the knowledge related to this bacteria.

How dangerous is Staphylococcus aureus?

Staphylococcus aureus is a common pathogenic bacterium, a Gram-positive coccus, and its common morphology is a grape cluster. When food containing sufficient amounts of Staphylococcus aureus and its toxins is ingested by humans, it may cause food poisoning.

Staphylococcus aureus colonies growing on agar

Source: Wikipedia/HansN.

After food poisoning, the most common symptom is acute gastroenteritis, which manifests as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, etc. For people with normal immune function, these symptoms usually appear 6-24 hours after consumption, and the symptoms are mild and the course of the disease is short, usually lasting 1-3 days.

However, for special groups, such as the elderly, infants, pregnant women, and patients with weakened immune systems, Staphylococcus aureus infection can produce more serious symptoms such as gastrointestinal infections, influenza, sepsis, and may even cause serious infections and lead to death.

Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium that is commonly found in the intestines of humans and other animals . Many foods are susceptible to contamination by it, such as meat, poultry, milk, cream and eggs. When these foods are contaminated and left at room temperature (20-22°C) for more than five hours, Staphylococcus aureus will rapidly multiply in the food and produce toxins, which are called Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxins . They are extremely toxic substances that can cause serious health problems.

This toxin is heat stable and exists in food for a long time. It can also remain stable at high temperatures and is not easily destroyed or removed. Therefore, if food contains Staphylococcus aureus and the enterotoxin it produces, the Staphylococcus aureus and its toxins are often not completely killed during the cooking and storage process, and the toxins cannot be removed. If you eat food containing a sufficient amount of Staphylococcus aureus toxins, the toxins can enter the body and irritate the intestinal wall, causing the above symptoms.

Why did egg yolk pie get infected?

Egg yolk pie is a pastry made from wheat flour, eggs and white sugar. Why does Staphylococcus aureus appear in it? It is mainly due to problems in the production environment, materials and processes during the production process. Staphylococcus aureus is mainly contaminated by contact, processing, transportation, sales environment and Staphylococcus aureus carried by the human body. Improper operation can cause food contamination.

Source: A shopping website

Eggs, as one of the raw materials for egg yolk pie processing, are very susceptible to Staphylococcus aureus infection. Inadequate hygiene during the production and processing process, or infection by employees, can cause the egg yolk pie to contain excessive Staphylococcus aureus, posing a risk of infectious diseases. In 2013, China's National Health and Family Planning Commission issued the "National Food Safety Standard Limits of Pathogenic Bacteria in Food", which detailed the limit standards for Staphylococcus aureus.

Source: a certain brand of pastry

In addition, some other common foods are also prone to bacterial contamination. For example, a certain brand of steamed cake, which became popular across the country because of its advertising slogan "delicious and not irritating", was found by the market supervision department in 2017 to have failed to meet the relevant standards in a spot check of Staphylococcus aureus. Staphylococcus aureus mainly contaminates milk and dairy products, eggs and egg products, poultry and livestock meat, frozen foods, etc. Staphylococcus aureus food poisoning incidents have also occurred in some cooked foods and leftovers . Most foods are at risk of infection. So how should we avoid this situation in our daily lives and protect ourselves?

How to prevent Staphylococcus aureus poisoning ?

In order to avoid Staphylococcus aureus food poisoning, we should start from maintaining the hygiene of the production, processing and sales process environment and food practitioners, and inhibiting and killing Staphylococcus aureus. In the process of food production, the production workshop should be kept hygienic and cleaned and disinfected regularly; food practitioners should also pass a health check before going to work, pay attention to the wearing of gloves and masks at work, increase the importance of personal hygiene, and avoid direct contact with food. This is also the reason why companies strictly manage quality and safety during the production process. In terms of personal protection, we should pay attention to the preservation and refrigeration of food. For food that needs to be refrigerated, it should be placed in the refrigerator; for food that does not need to be refrigerated, it should also be placed in a place with low temperature and good air circulation to slow down the reproduction of bacteria. And do not leave it for too long.

Egg yolk pie source: a shopping website

In addition, we should also pay attention to the freshness of food. In spring and summer, the temperature is high and the growth rate of bacteria will also accelerate. Therefore, it is recommended to eat the food purchased on the same day as much as possible on the same day. This can not only ensure the freshness of the food, but also prevent bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus from growing at room temperature. Food should be fully heated before eating, especially meat, fish and seafood products, because Staphylococcus aureus has a certain high temperature tolerance and needs to be heated at 90 degrees Celsius for more than 25 minutes to completely eliminate it. Through these measures, the risk of food poisoning can be effectively reduced and a healthy lifestyle can be maintained. In daily life, food safety is an issue that everyone should pay attention to. And Staphylococcus aureus in egg yolk pie, as a type of pathogenic bacteria widely present in our lives, also needs to be highly valued. Therefore, while enjoying delicious food, we should also pay attention to food safety and pay attention to "safety on the tip of the tongue" to prevent diseases from entering the mouth and causing harm to our health.