Salmonella Still Most Common Form of Food Poisoning

The cases of food poisoning through Campylobacter across Europe has levelled off, according to a new report from the European Food Safety Authority.

However, the number of cases of Listeriosis and infections from e.coli are on the increase.

The incidents of reported salmonellosis and yersiniosis cases have decreased, according to the European Union Summary Report on Trends and Sources of Zoonoses, Zoonotic Agents and Food-borne Outbreaks in 2013.

“The stabilisation of campylobacteriosis cases and the continuing downward trend of salmonellosis is good news, but we should not lower our guard as reporting of other diseases such as listeriosis and VTEC infections is going up,” said Marta Hugas, Director of EFSA’s Risk Assessment and Scientific Assistance Department.

A total of 5,196 food-borne outbreaks, including water-borne outbreaks, were reported in the EU in 2013.

Most food-borne outbreaks were caused by Salmonella, followed by viruses, bacterial toxins and Campylobacter, whereas in 28.9 per cent of all outbreaks the causative agent was unknown.

Eggs and egg products, followed by mixed food, and fish and fish products were seen as the main carriers of foodborne pathogens.

As the report on the number of incidents of food poisoning was released, the food safety authority also confirmed the link between the use of some antibiotics and resistance to these antibiotics in both humans and animals.

The study shows that there are also important differences in the consumption of antimicrobials in animals and in humans between European countries.

The strongest associations between consumption and resistance in food-producing animals were found for the antimicrobials studied in relation to indicator Escherichia coli. Positive associations were also noted for Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp.