Minister of Health Rakan Nassereddine claims that laboratory tests document cases of trichinellosis in Lebanon. In an interview published on November 4, the Minister gives a specific name to the health risk that triggered the mobilization of the authorities: a parasitic disease, not a simple undifferentiated food poisoning. However, his statements are not accompanied by a detailed national assessment of patients, samples and results.
This distinction counts in the reading of the file. The Ministry’s alert, published on 30 October, covered suspicious cases and announced epidemiological and biological investigations. The Minister is now talking about results confirming infections. This does not make it possible to present each report as a confirmed case or to attribute all the diseases reported to the same origin.
Trichinellosis and food controls: two related investigations
The health component seeks to identify those affected and reconstruct their dietary exposures. The control component covers products, their origin and the conditions of their circulation. These steps must be joined to establish a documented link between a meal, a lot of meat and contamination.
Rakan Nassereddine evokes meat mixing practices and denounces fraud. These accusations remain to be linked to the results of the investigation in order to identify the products and officials concerned. They do not justify the indiscriminate designation of restaurants, butchers or the whole of a sector.
The Minister also stressed the need to go back before preparing the meal. It calls for more controls in warehouses and slaughterhouses. The visible cleanliness of a restaurant does not in itself inform the entire meat route it receives.
Forty-eight hours to identify warehouses
On 3 November, the Minister of Economy and Trade, Amer Bissat, asked the consumer protection officers for immediate intervention. It has set them a time limit of 48 hours for transmitting the names of the meat warehouses, whether authorized or not, and the information available on their activities.
The checks requested relate to the origin of meat, its storage, refrigeration and validity in butcher shops, restaurants and outlets. They also include the collection of information on slaughterhouses and transport suspected of failing to meet the required conditions.
The data must be made available to the Lebanese Food Security Authority in coordination with the relevant authorities and under the supervision of the Public Prosecutor ‘ s Office. The announced deadline is therefore for feedback. It does not prove that all the sites have already been visited or that there has been a review of the infringements.
Precautions recalled by the Ministry
Trichinellosis is transmitted through the consumption of raw or insufficiently cooked contaminated meat. The Ministry of Health recalls that it does not pass directly from one person to another. It recommends that raw or malcooked meat be avoided and that supplies be made from controlled circuits.
Freezing, salting and smoking should not be considered as a guarantee against the parasite. Gastrointestinal disorders, followed by fever, muscle pain or swelling around the eyes may cause a consultation after a suspected dietary exposure. These signs alone are not enough to make a diagnosis.
The Ministry invites the persons concerned to consult a doctor and stresses the interest of early care. The alert does not make it possible to conclude that a product is contaminated on its own aspect or on a rumour about its place of sale.
Results still to be specified
Rakan Nassereddine recognizes an insufficient number of health inspectors. It presents cooperation between administrations as a means of strengthening prevention rather than limiting action to the closure of an establishment after the occurrence of cases.
The next assessment should distinguish between suspected and confirmed patients, positive food samples, sites inspected and measures taken. Without these elements, the alert justifies vigilance and controls, but does not measure the exact extent of the episode or publicly establish individual responsibilities.
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