Salmonellosis outbreak linked to Ukrainian instant noodles reaches Estonia

A salmonella outbreak that is spreading across Europe has now reached Estonia. The outbreak has been traced to Reeva instant noodles from Ukraine and is primarily affecting children.

While salmonellosis is typically contracted by eating raw egg dishes or undercooked chicken, nearly 90 people in 11 European countries have become infected after consuming instant noodles. In Estonia, five cases of Salmonella Stanley have been confirmed, which is the same bacterium found in other outbreaks. The Health Board is also investigating six additional samples.

"In Estonia, this outbreak is associated with young people and children, with a median age of 10," said Juta Varjas, head of services at the Health Board's infectious diseases department. According to Varjas, this strain of salmonella has not previously been recorded in Estonia, nor has there been any known case of the disease spreading through instant noodle consumption.

The Agriculture and Food Board (PTA) learned about the contaminated noodles from the Health Board rather than through the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF). "Batches flagged at the European level were not being sold in Estonia at the time. We received the information through the Health Board because the batches on sale in Estonia had not been included in RASFF alerts," said Silvia Laiv-Mumma, chief specialist in PTA's knowledge services department.

Three products from two different batches have been analyzed, and pathogens were found in two of them. Additional testing is underway, and the PTA said it will not recall any batches until contamination is confirmed in the laboratory. The manufacturer is located outside the European Union, and information will be passed on through suppliers.

Salmonella is destroyed at temperatures of 70 to 75 degrees Celsius, so if the noodles are prepared according to instructions, the pathogen should be eliminated. However, according to the Health Board, those who became ill had eaten the noodles dry as a snack.