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Review
. 2021 Jul 13;10(7):1614.
doi: 10.3390/foods10071614.

Alaria alata in Terms of Risks to Consumers' Health

Weronika Korpysa-Dzirba  1 , Mirosław Różycki  1 , Ewa Bilska-Zając  1 , Jacek Karamon  1 , Jacek Sroka  1 , Aneta Bełcik  1 , Magdalena Wasiak  2 , Tomasz Cencek  1
Affiliations
Review

Alaria alata in Terms of Risks to Consumers' Health

Weronika Korpysa-Dzirba et al. Foods. .

Abstract

Alaria alata flukes are cosmopolitan parasites. In Europe, the definitive hosts are red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), wolves (Canis lupus), and raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides), as well as animals that belong to the Felidae family. Intermediate hosts, such as snails and frogs, are the sources of infection for definitive hosts. The developmental stages of A. alata mesocercariae may occur in paratenic hosts, including many species of mammals, birds, and reptiles, as well as in wild boars (Sus scrofa), which are important from the zoonotic point of view. Because there are no regulations concerning the detection of A. alata in meat, this fluke is usually detected during official obligatory Trichinella spp. inspections. However, a method dedicated to A. alata detection was developed. The growing popularity of game and organic meat has led to an increased risk of food-associated parasitic infections, including alariosis, which is caused by the mesocercarial stage of A. alata. The aim of this article is to highlight the problem of A. alata as an emerging parasite, especially in the terms of the increasing market for game and organic meats that have been processed with traditional methods, often without proper heat treatment.

Keywords: Alaria alata; meat; one health; parasite; pork; risk; venison.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The adult stage of A. alata isolated from the small intestine of a red fox; 40× magnification (by J. Karamon).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The larval stage of A. alata detected in the muscle tissue of a wild boar (by M. Wasiak).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Life cycle of A. alata (by J. Karamon).
Figure 4
Figure 4
A. alata movement sequence in a muscular cyst of a wild boar (by M. Różycki) (the movie showing movement of A.alata is included in the Supplementary Materials Video S1).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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