Prepare meat well!
The creepy ESBL bacteria is increasingly in the news. Can you still eat chicken?
A bacterium that causes antibiotics don’t help if you get sick, that sounds scary. And the ESBL bacterium is one such bacterium. Although, bacteria? Officially it is all a bit more complicated, because ESBL is actually an enzyme that some intestinal bacteria (such as E.coli) is made. An enzyme, therefore, and not a bacterium. But for the sake of convenience, we still speak of an ESBL bacterium.
Resistant bacteria
Why is ESBL actually dangerous? The good news is that this ESBL bacteria is not dangerous for healthy individuals. But for vulnerable groups, these bacteria can certainly be dangerous. These vulnerable groups are:
• children up to 5 years
• pregnant women
• sick people with a low resistance (such as after an operation)
• elderly
If they become ill from, for example, the bacterium E.coli, they can get nasty infections. Normally these bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics, but with ESBL that is not the case. ESBL ensures that the bacteria that caused the infection resistant be against antibiotics. In that case, treatment of the infection will often have to take place in a hospital, for example by using an IV.
In summary, ESBL bacteria are not dangerous for healthy people, but for vulnerable groups they can make the treatment of possible infections much more difficult.
Keep cool, prepare well
ESBL bacteria are mainly found on meat, such as pork, veal, but especially chicken meat. It makes sense to advise vulnerable people not to eat chicken meat anymore, but that is not necessary at all. You can greatly reduce the risk of contamination with the ESBL bacteria by preparing and cooking the meat in a good, hygienic way. keep. To start with the latter, all meat must be kept refrigerated, so in the fridge or freezer. This reduces the growth of harmful bacteria.
6 tips for everyone
With a few simple tips you can prepare your meat the right way:
1. Always wash your hands well before cooking.
2. Wash your hands immediately after handling raw meat.
3. Wash your utensils immediately after use with hot water and washing-up liquid.
4. Do not pierce raw meat and then cooked food with the same cutlery. So, for example, use different forks to pierce raw meat and cooked meat.
5. Never use the same surface for raw meat and then for cooked food.
6. Cook meat thoroughly. By properly heating the meat, all bacteria die, including the ESBL bacteria.
These tips do not only apply to the vulnerable groups, but to everyone. Even if you are healthy and have a good resistance, you can carry the ESBL bacteria in you without noticing. If you then become ill later, these bacteria can still prevent antibiotics from working. So prepare your meat hygienically, always and everywhere.
