Controlling the Storage Time Is an Effective Measure to Reduce the Risk of Bongkrekic Acid Poisoning Caused by Wet Rice Noodles

Abstract

In October 2018, bongkrekic acid (BKA) poisoning cases caused by consuming wet rice noodles contaminated with Burkholderia gladioli were first reported in Guangdong Province, resulting in three cases, and two of them died. Due to the high fatality rate, the Guangdong Health Commission issued a code. The core risk-control elements of the code were storage temperature and storage time management, and the storage time is controlled through adopting a small sealed package with a clearly labeled production date and shelf life. In this study, we followed up on the code’s implementation and compared the incidence of related foodborne diseases before and after the implementation of the code. Due to the rarity of B. gladioli contamination, monitoring its prevalence directly was challenging. Therefore, we also assessed the levels of B. cereus, a more common foodborne pathogen in wet rice noodles, to infer trends in microbial contamination. Then the feasible and effective measures to control BKA poisoning caused by wet rice noodles were analyzed. A questionnaire survey revealed that the implementation rate of packaging management—utilizing complete independent small sealed package with clearly marked shelf life to control storage duration—reached 81.25%. However, the adoption rate of cold storage management was only 41.96%. The annual average number of BKA poisoning cases in Guangdong Province dropped from 6.25 before implementing the code to 0.5 after implementing the code. The detection rate of B. gladioli and B. cereus in the samples decreased from 1.56% (1/64) to 0.45% (1/220) and 42.26% (71/168) to 5% (11/220), respectively. The reduction of B. gladioli and B. cereus may reflect the improvement in microbial status. This study indicated that although the storage temperature control was not ideal, controlling the storage time through adopting a complete independent small sealed package with a clearly marked shelf life could still effectively mitigate BKA poisoning caused by wet rice noodles.