Food Danger

Whenever companies produce and distribute food products like raw milk and soft cheeses, smoked fish, raw meat and ready-to-eat products, it is extremely important that the food is produced and distributed in a hygienic environment because we are well aware about the food-borne illnesses and dangerous pathogens that someone can contract if they consume contaminated food. The article I read focused on Listeria outbreaks in Austria. Listeria, the rod-shaped bacterium isn’t really a threat to human health but one particular species called Listeria monocytogenes has the potential of causing dangerous diseases like meningitis and septicaemia, especially among infants and the elderly due to their weak immune systems. The use of pathos was evident in this article because it gave statistical information that can cause someone to feel empathy, sad, or even concerned about their own well-being. For instance, the article stated “…from June 2009 to January 2010 was attributed to one L. monocytogenes strain very effective at infecting epithelial cells of the intestine and liver cells…caused 14 cases resulting in 5 deaths.” I personally was blown away from the fact that 5 out of the 14 people that were infected died. That means 36% of people who were reported to have Listeriosis within that time frame died. Another I found shocking was that Listeriosis can cause a miscarriage or stillbirth among pregnant women. This also plays to the author’s use of pathos because it can bring strong emotions to mothers. This article caught my attention because I remembered that learned about Listeria in culinary arts, so it was nice to refresh my memory about the danger of Listeriosis.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140321112256.htm 

http://blogs.discovery.com/.a/6a00d8341bf67c53ef015392109c15970b-pi