The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) said in a statement yesterday that in a recent regular food sampling inspection, an excessive amount of Listeria monocytogenes was found in sea bream sashimi served by Praha Restaurante at Macau Fisherman’s Wharf in Zape.
The statement underlined that the bureau has ordered the restaurant to stop supplying the product, while also requiring it to rectify its preparation and presentation process, ensuring food safety.
The restaurant is also required to arrange for its employees to take courses on food hygiene, so as to strengthen the staff members’ awareness of sanitation in preparing and processing food, the statement noted, which added that the sea bream sashimi dish can be prepared and served again only when the restaurant meets the bureau’s food safety and health requirements.
The statement said that while Listeria monocytogenes can survive and multiply in cold refrigeration they can be killed by thorough heating, stressing that raw, ready-to-eat and frozen food is linked to higher Listeria monocytogenes contamination risk.
Listeria monocytogenes infectees usually develop symptoms such as fever, muscle pain, headache, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, according to the statement, which noted that newborns, senior citizens and people with weakened immunity are at risk for severe complications, and even death.
The bureau urged the catering sector to use “raw food” grade ingredients when preparing and serving raw ready-to-eat dishes, while also ensuring that the foods are always transported, stored and displayed at a proper temperature.
2002 electron micrograph of a flagellated Listeria monocytogenes bacterium, magnified 41,250X. – Image courtesy of Elizabeth White/CDC/Wikimedia Commons
