Research – Multinational investigation of a Salmonella Umbilo outbreak reveals rocket salad and baby spinach as the likely infection vehicles, Europe, 2024

Eurosurveillance

We report on the collaborative investigation of an outbreak including about 200 cases of Salmonella enterica serotype Umbilo (S. Umbilo) that affected several European countries mainly between July and September 2024. The investigation enabled to rapidly identify and microbiologically confirm rocket salad (also known as arugula or rucola) from company A in Italy as the likely food vehicle. Baby spinach and possibly other items produced by the same company could be additional food vehicles. While case numbers appeared to decline in October 2024, some S. Umbilo infections (with genomic analysis pending to confirm these cases) continue to be detected at the time of writing.