Preliminary results from a study on Lebanese cheese showed concentrations of E. coli dozens of times higher than accepted standards. (Credit: Bigstock)
In a tweet last week, Issmat Kassem, an associate professor of food safety and food microbiology at the American University of Beirut, warned of the high concentration of the E. coli bacteria present in a type of Lebanese cheese, Akkawi, causing many consumers to panic.
E. coli is commonly found in the digestive tract of humans and animals. The bacteria, however, has strains that are pathogenic to humans, causing food poisoning and severe diarrhea.
In his warning, Kassem relied on the preliminary results of a study conducted on “20 samples of cheese sold in bulk or [that] are vacuum packed in different areas of Beirut,” that his students selected under his supervision.
“The study is not yet complete,” Kassem told L’Orient-Le Jour, adding that “other samples still need to be collected and analyzed. In any case, we limited ourselves to the products in the capital, due to the pandemic and the fuel shortage. We are looking for the E. coli bacteria, staphylococcus and coliform bacteria of fecal origin.”
According to this study, the concentration of E. coli in some of these cheese samples is 80 times higher than the maximum accepted level, as set by the Lebanese Standards Institution (LIBNOR): 100 to 1,000 colonies per gram.
In a cheese sample bought in a grocery store in Sakiyet al-Janzir, the bacteria concentration was 79,600 colonies per gram, compared to 4,724, 7,984 and 2,000 colonies per gram in samples from stores in Koraytem, Ras al-Nabeh and Verdun, respectively.
Extended electricity blackouts have an impact on the cold chain and consequently on foods such as eggs, dairy products, meat, poultry and fish, according to Kassem.
“A rupture in this cold chain contributes to the rapid proliferation of bacteria in these foodstuffs,” he added.
“This work follows a larger study that we published in 2020. At the time, we analyzed data provided by the Food Safety Department of the Health Ministry, as part of a campaign it had organized between 2015 and 2017,” Kassem explained.
He added that the ministry “collected 12,000 different food samples, 30 percent of which did not meet food safety standards, which is huge.”
Meanwhile, a food safety specialist contacted by L’Orient-Le Jour said that 2o samples of cheese are not enough to [detect the problem].
“Of course, there is a health security problem in Lebanon. We know it,” the specialist said on condition of anonymity.
“But in this study, which is still ongoing, it is not known whether the problem lies with the initial production of the cheese, the cold chain, the supermarket or the grocery store where the cheese is sold,” the source said.
Kassem agreed, stressing that “the rupture of the cold chain in various places is not to be overlooked.”
“We are not trying to blame anyone for this. We just want to get people’s attention to [encourage them to] be vigilant, especially since with the ongoing power cuts these problems will only get worse. This is not to mention the shortage of medicines in the country,” he added.
“It is important at this time to avoid raw consumption of sensitive foods. It is also advisable to heat the cheese before consuming it,” Kassem concluded.
This article was originally published in French in L’Orient-Le Jour. Translation by Sahar Ghoussoub.
