Reversal of the situation for the dairy producer Bradet, who became famous in the E.coli contamination scandal.
Last week, the Cantacuzino Institute announced that the final result of its analysis shows that E.coli strains from children with hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) are not identical to those found in cheese produced in Bradet.
However, documents obtained exclusively by Ziare.com shows that in the analyzes collected from 7 factory employees, pathogenic E.coli was detected, and three of the positive samples show both vtx genes (vtx 1 and vtx2), the verotoxin that causes SHU.
The results are specified in the address number 1,435 of March 11, 2016, sent by DSP Arges to Arges Prefecture.
Products with problems
According to the document, the National Center for Testing and Expertise of Larex Products found in two of Bradet’s products, Fagaras Cheese, in a 200 gram package with an expiration date of 08.03.2016, and 12% cream, in a 200 gram package with an expiration date of expiration 23.03.2016, E.coli over the legal limit allowed.
It would be about a exceeding the limit 15 times, according to our sources.
Isolated cultures of Larex were sent to the Cantacuzino Institute for the identification of pathogenic E.coli strains.
At the same time, according to DSP Arges, in addition to the 7 employees of the factory, pathogenic E.coli was also detected in the samples collected from two of the employees of the Agrostar Farmex SRL farm, supplier for Bradet. One of the samples shows both vtx genes. However, these employees do not work in animal care or handling dairy products.
DPS Arges claims that Bradet staff may not have followed individual hygiene rules during working hours. As a result, it is shown in the document sent to the Arges Prefecture, the employees who work with the handling of dairy products have been sanctioned, they have been sent home and it is recommended that they do not resume their activity except with medical approval.
Bradet dairy products, analyzed in Germany
Contacted by Ziare.com, Bradet’s owner, Marius Badea, admits that he was notified by DSP Arges regarding the results of these analyzes, but he has objections regarding them.
“Regarding the address sent by DSP Arges, we would like to inform you that we were not present at the sampling you refer to, they were not taken from the factory, we do not know if the temperature written on the packaging was observed. It is known that they have been withdrawn from marketing since the date of the unfounded suspicion of infection of our products.
We have sent samples to Germany for a wide range of products, and all analyzes are good. Regarding the employees, we also requested additional analyzes at Cantacuzino, in order to eliminate any suspicion of contamination of the products with a pathogenic E.coli. We were later told that this analysis is not eloquent because almost the entire population carries E.coli, E.coli living in the digestive tract as a normality. Therefore, this analysis is not included in the mandatory employment analyzes “, the owner Bradet explained to us.
Fagaras cheese, the batch that expires on 08.03.2016, found with E.coli above the limit allowed by Larex, appears in the analyzes in Germany, not 12% sour cream with expiration date 23.06 2016.
“I don’t know where those samples were taken from and if they were kept in optimal conditions. The products may have E.coli, but if it is not kept at the right temperature, their number grows. The samples should have been taken from the factory, as DSV did. Why do the samples from the factory come out good and the ones from the field don’t come out good? “, asked rhetorically Marius Badea.
On the other hand, however, not all the samples from the factory came out really good. The director of DSV Arges, Daniel Lupu, confirmed for Ziare.com that in cheese 5% fat collected by DSV inspectors from Bradet factory and from Costesti Hospital – lots from 28.02 and 22.02 – E.coli was discovered over the allowed limit:
“The lots are not related to the death of children, but there may be a source of contamination in the area of handling, employees, factory and route.”
In the analyzes sent to Germany, according to the results provided by Bradet, this loose cow’s cheese does not appear either.
The owner Bradet defends himself: My products did not make anyone sick. To do analyzes and those who controlled us
The owner Marius Badea claims that he did not receive from the DSP or from the Cantacuzino Institute the analysis bulletins regarding the employees, he only received the notification from DSP Arges and he was informed by phone which employees they were talking about.
“People are healthy, they have no symptoms, the tests can be interpreted and discussed. These employees did not work in the cheese sector and I have the certainty that Bradet products did not make anyone sick: I have not received any complaints from any customer.
Let’s do an analysis on all employees and those who control us, and they are carriers of E.coli! The new doctor told us that everyone has it and, if you follow the hygiene rules, it’s not the problem.
When asked what we should do, we were told that nothing, because over 75% of the population has E.coli permanently present. Not even treatment can be given to these people, because it is a transient state. Therefore, the legislation does not say that people must be tested for employment for E.coli “, said the owner Bradet.
E.coli, present at Bradet, but the connection with the death of the babies is impossible to determine
Medical sources explained for Ziare.com that a clear distinction must be made between non-pathogenic E.coli carriers, less aggressive E.coli pathogens and verotoxin carriers, such as three of Bradet’s employees.
“It is impossible to say that there is a link between this staff and the death of children, but you can say that those staff pose a risk to the health of consumers and that evidence of E.coli appears in products. Even if it has developed in the sales network, it means that existed in those closed products “, the quoted sources told us.
Primary infectionist doctor: Hygiene is essential!
“We can’t say that 75% of the population has E.coli in the digestive tract, but indeed many people have it, but mostly non-pathogenic, not pathogenic. Coliforms above the food limit show that there has been non-compliance throughout the chain. It is clear that there is a problem with that product, “he explained Ziare.com and conf.univ. Dr. Gabriel Popescu, primary infectionist doctor.
“An E.coli that is in the gut may not cause problems in the gut, but if it has the ability to affect the urinary tract and get there it can cause urinary tract infection. The degree of pathogenicity depends on the person, place and type of aggression. strains.
Some people do not get sick, although they carry pathogenic E.coli, but they can transmit it if that person has hygiene leaks. Even in the same person, the “non-aggression treaty” can be broken for various reasons “, the doctor added.
Assoc. Gabriel Popescu says that no one wears a daily map that shows exactly who in the population has microbes and where they are located, but “there are sensitive areas that need to be more closely monitored, in hospitals, in food chains, in closed communities with small children or elderly, because there a colonized person can transmit more easily.
It is true that there are not many methods of decontamination of the digestive tract, especially in the case of a healthy carrier. Therefore, compliance with personal hygiene measures and regular monitoring in sensitive areas are essential. “
System bugs
The whole story shows important system problems. In Arges there is no accredited laboratory for E.coli analysis in food.
There is also an important breach in legislation. It does not, in fact, oblige employees to check for E.coli contamination. The Ministry of Health excluded in 2011 from the list of mandatory analyzes the determination of E.coli in faeces.
According to GD 1169/2011, a copro-bacteriological examination of the staff is performed only once a year, only salmonella and shigella are mandatory, but E.coli is tested only on the recommendation of the occupational physician, if he deems it necessary.
Until 2011, the exam was done twice a year and the determination was mandatory for E.coli as well.
In addition, the legislation does not require that the person detected with pathogenic E.coli be removed from production. It is only at the level of recommendation.
The owner of Lactate Bradet raises money from the citizens to set up a new company
Bradet products have been withdrawn from the market and the factory is currently closed. Bradet exported products to several EU countries and on Tuesday it seems that the scandal spread to Italy.
A Romanian child aged one year and two months is hospitalized in a hospital in Florence with hemolytic uremic syndrome, and local health authorities suspect that the disease was caused by Lactate Bradet cheese.
The E.coli scandal crosses the border: Romanian child, intoxicated in Italy and hospitalized
According to La Repubblica, the 14-month-old child is hospitalized at the Meyer Hospital in Florence, with food poisoning, and his condition is “serious, but not serious”.
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