Category Archives: EFSA

EFSA – Salmonella – Story Map

Posted on December 13, 2022 by | Leave a comment

EFSA

Salmonella is a genus of highly diverse bacteria that live in the intestinal tract of humans and animals and are widespread in the environment thanks to their ability to survive and adapt even under extreme conditions.

The more than 2,600 Salmonella  serovars  are divided into typhoidal and non-typhoidal serovars and all of them are potentially harmful and can cause diseases in humans with different level of severity. Typhoidal serovars (S. Typhi and S. Paratyphi) are highly adapted to the human host, which constitutes their exclusive reservoir, so they are transmittable only through human-to-human contact, causing a potentially life-threatening syndrome known as typhoid or paratyphoid fever. Their prevalence is very low in high-income countries, and the few European cases that occur generally involve people returning from trips to low- or middle-income countries.

Non-typhoidal serovars are zoonotic agents. They are transmittable from animals and foods to humans, but also through human-to-human contact, and they can cause various syndromes, most of which are gastrointestinal. Due to its adaptability, Salmonella is widely prevalent in the environment and can infect animals and contaminate food.

The majority of circulating serovars are non-typhoidal and are the subject of this story map.

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, EFSA, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Salmonella

Research – Unwelcome gifts: food poisoning unwrapped

Posted on December 13, 2022 by | Leave a comment

EFSA

Are you looking forward to the holiday season to savour the finest traditional dishes with your friends and loved ones? The second episode of our podcast “Science on the menu” is the perfect soundtrack. Valentina Rizzi, Head of EFSA’s Biological Monitoring team, walks us through the risks linked to food contamination and the rules we should follow to make sure the food we prepare and eat is safe. We will also discuss how EFSA deals with foodborne outbreaks in Europe in collaboration with other European institutions, such as the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). If after this second episode you would like to know more on foodborne outbreaks, visit our dedicated story map and the interactive dashboard. If you are curious about the work of ECDC, listen to their podcast “ECDC: On Air” 

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Posted in EFSA, food bourne outbreak, Food Poisoning, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, outbreak

EFSA – Listeria monocytogenes – Story Map

Posted on December 13, 2022 by | Leave a comment

EFSA

Listeria bacteria are widespread in the environment and they are worldwide commonly found in soil and water, as well as in animal digestive tracts. There are more than 15  species  of bacteria in this genus, but human cases of Listeria infection are almost always caused by Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) while Listeria ivanovii is pathogenic in animals but rarely in humans. The other species are not considered to be pathogenic in humans or animals.

L. monocytogenes are able to form communities of bacteria called biofilms and are therefore resistant to a wide range of stresses. This capacity varies among  genotypes . They can tolerate acidic, dry and salty conditions, in the presence or absence of oxygen. Moreover, unlike most pathogenic bacteria, they are able to survive and multiply in refrigerated foods, making ready-to-eat foods of particular concern.

Specific  strains  (identified by “ serogroups ” and “ serovars ”) are important for human health as they can differ in terms of geographical distribution and their ability to cause disease. Detection and isolation of Listeria strains, both by classic laboratory procedures and molecular and genomic methods, are therefore crucial to evaluate their relative presence in food, the environment and clinical settings, to address the  virulence  and to precisely trace  outbreaks , identifying the source of infection.

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, EFSA, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbial growth, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microbiology Risk, Pathogen

Research – Seafood safety and food‐borne zoonoses from fish

Posted on May 29, 2022 by | Leave a comment

EFSA

Parasitic nematodes of the genus Anisakis are the causative agent of anisakiosis, an important fish‐borne zoonosis. Humans are infected through consumption of raw or undercooked fish, contaminated with the parasite. Infection can result in both gastrointestinal and allergic symptoms. There are few reports of anisakiosis in Portugal, but evidence of Anisakis allergy exists, indicating that exposure is occurring in the population. The European Food Risk Assessment Fellowship Programme (EU‐FORA) work programme, entitled: ‘Food safety of fish and zoonoses: fish consumption and microbiological risk assessment and perception, from fisherman to final consumers in Portugal’ was hosted by the Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), in Porto, Portugal. It aimed to gather information on risk perception and attitudes in the Portuguese population to contamination of fish with Anisakis spp. and on their knowledge of methods to prevent infection. In addition, it aimed to examine the risk of anisakiosis in the Portuguese population.

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, EFSA, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Zoonosis

Research – High-pressure processing: food safety without compromising quality

Posted on March 9, 2022 by | Leave a comment

EFSA

High-pressure processing (HPP) of food is effective at destroying harmful microorganisms and poses no more food safety concerns than other treatments. These are two of the conclusions of a scientific opinion published by EFSA today.

EFSA experts assessed the safety and efficacy of HPP of food and, more specifically, whether it can be used to control Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat (RTE) foods and as an alternative to thermal pasteurisation of raw milk.

HPP is a non-thermal food preservation technique that kills microorganisms that can cause diseases or spoil food. It uses intense pressure for a certain time and has minimal effects on taste, texture, appearance, or nutritional values.

HPP can be used at different steps of the food chain, usually on pre-packed products. It can be applied to raw materials such as milk, fruit juices, and smoothies but also to products that have already been processed, such as sliced cooked meat products and RTE meals. In the latter case, it reduces the contamination originating from the manufacturing environment, for example during slicing and manipulation of the products.

This processing method reduces levels of Listeria monocytogenes in RTE meat products, at specific time-pressure combinations defined in the scientific opinion. In general, the longer the duration and intensity of the pressure, the more reduction is achieved. This is an important finding because L. monocytogenes contamination of RTE foods is a public health concern in the EU. HPP also proved to be effective at decreasing the levels of other pathogens, such as Salmonella and E. coli.

For raw milk, experts identified the time-pressure combinations that can be considered to have the same effect as thermal pasteurisation. These vary depending on the pathogen considered.

HPP is not specifically regulated at EU level and EFSA’s advice will inform the possible decisions of risk managers in this field.

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Posted in Decontamination Microbial, EFSA, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Safety, food safety training, Food Technology, HPP, Listeria monocytogenes, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Microorganism DNA, Technology

Research – EU Commission notice on guidance document on addressing microbiological risks in fresh fruits and vegetables at primary production through good hygiene – 2017

Posted on February 4, 2022 by | Leave a comment

EUR LEX

Norovirus Food Safety kswfoodworld

According to the 2014 Zoonosis Monitoring Report (1), the majority of verified outbreaks in the EU were associated with foodstuffs of animal origin. Fruit and vegetables were implicated in only 7,1 % of the verified outbreaks, primarily caused by frozen raspberries contaminated with Norovirus, albeit showing an increase compared to 2013 where ‘vegetables and juices’ were reported in 4,4 % of the outbreaks.

Nevertheless, the possible consequences of microbiological contamination of fresh fruits and vegetables (FFV) cannot be under­estimated as shown by the German crisis (2) linked to the contamination of sprouts by Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC).In the aftermath of this VTEC crisis in 2011, the Commission asked the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to advice on the public health risks posed by pathogens in food of non-animal origin (FNAO), addressing in particular the risk factors and the mitigation options including possible microbiological criteria.

As a result, EFSA issued six scientific opinions on the following food/pathogen combinations identified as the most important risks within FNAO:

1) VTEC in seeds and sprouted seeds

(2) Salmonella and Norovirus in food of leafy greens eaten raw as salads.

(3) Salmonella and Norovirus in berries.

(4) Salmonella and Norovirus in tomatoes.

(5) Salmonella in melons.

(6) Salmonella, Yersinia, Shigella and Norovirus in bulb and stem vegetables, and carrots.

This guideline takes account of the relevant opinions of EFSA, and consultation with Member States experts and relevant stakeholders. Though it is intended to offer practical help to growers, it may also be used by official inspectors during their audits where appropriate. EFSA confirmed that further research on possible risks and risk mitigating measures related to FFV should continue.

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Posted in EFSA, Food Microbiology Research, Norovirus, Research, Salmonella, Shigella, STEC, STEC E.coli, VTEC, Yersinia

Research – Zoonoses and foodborne outbreaks guidance for reporting 2021 data

Posted on January 31, 2022 by | Leave a comment

EFSA

This technical report of the European Food Safety Authority(EFSA)presents the guidance to reporting European Union(EU)Member States and non–Member States in data transmission using extensible markup language (XML)data transfer covering the reporting of prevalence data on zoonoses and microbiological agents and contaminants in food, foodborne outbreak data, animal population data and disease status data. For data collection purposes, EFSA has created the Data Collection Framework(DCF)application. The present report provides data dictionaries to guide the reporting of information deriving from 2021under the framework of Directive 2003/99/EC, Regulation (EU) 2017/625andCommission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/627.The objective is to explain in detail the individual data elements that are included in the EFSA data models to be used for XML data transmission through the DCF. In particular, the data elements to be reported are explained, including information about the data type, a reference to the list of allowed terms and any additional business rule or requirement that may apply.

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Posted in EFSA, food bourne outbreak, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, outbreak, Zoonosis

Norway – The Norwegian Zoonoses Report 2020

Posted on January 10, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Summary

The occurrence of most zoonotic pathogens in animals was stable in 2020 compared to previous years. The occurrence in humans, however, decreased in 2020 due to the COVID-19 situation. The decrease was highest in campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis and E. coli (EHEC/VTEC) infections, mainly due to less travel associated cases. Introduction The Zoonosis Report is published annually in Norway in accordance with the requirements of the EU Council Directive 2003/99/EC. In addition, data on specified zoonoses in feed, animals and food are reported to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Corresponding data from humans are reported to the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC).

These two European institutions compile an annual European zoonosis report based on the received data: https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/6971The Norwegian Veterinary Institute (NVI) is responsible for reporting of Norwegian data to EFSA, while the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) reports Norwegian data to ECDC. The Zoonosis Report is written by the NVI in collaboration with the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (NFSA) and NIPH.

Click to access 2021_63%20Zoonoserapporten%202020.pdf

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Posted in Campylobacter, Decontamination Microbial, EFSA, EHEC, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Microbiology Investigations, Salmonella, salmonellosis, STEC, STEC E.coli, VTEC, Zoonosis

Research – Resistance levels still high in bacteria causing foodborne infections

Posted on April 9, 2021 by | Leave a comment

EFSA

A sizeable proportion of Salmonella and Campylobacter bacteria is still resistant to antibiotics commonly used in humans and animals, as in previous years, says a report released today by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

In humans, high proportions of resistance to ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic commonly used to treat several types of infections, were reported in a specific Salmonella type known as S. Kentucky (82.1%). In recent years, S. Enteritidis resistant to nalidixic acid and/or ciprofloxacin has been increasingly reported in several countries. The increasing occurrence of fluoroquinolone and/or quinolone resistance in these types of Salmonella probably reflects the spread of particularly resistant strains.

In Campylobacter, resistance to ciprofloxacin is now so common in most countries that this antimicrobial has limited use in treatment of Campylobacter infections in humans.

However, the report also includes some positive findings. Over the period 2015-2019, a decline in resistance to ampicillin and tetracyclines has been observed in Salmonella isolates from humans in eight and eleven Member States respectively.

A decreasing trend has also been observed in the prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)- producing E. coli in samples from food producing animals from 13 Member States between 2015 and 2019. This is an important finding as particular strains of ESBL-producing E. coli are responsible for serious infections in humans.

Combined resistance to two critically important antimicrobials – fluoroquinolones and third generation cephalosporines in Salmonella and fluoroquinolones and macrolides in Campylobacter – remains low. These critically important antimicrobials are commonly used to treat serious infections from Salmonella and Campylobacter in humans.

The rate of E. coli bacteria in samples from food producing animals that respond to all antimicrobials tested also increased. This was observed in nine Member States over the period 2014-2019.

The report was based on antimicrobial resistance monitoring data collected by Member States as part of their EU regulatory obligations and jointly analysed by EFSA and ECDC with the assistance of external contractors.

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Posted in Antibiotic Resistance, antimicrobial resistance, Campylobacter, EFSA, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, microbial contamination, Microbiological Risk Assessment, Microbiology, Research, Salmonella

Research – Ochratoxin A in food: public health risks assessed

Posted on May 26, 2020 by | Leave a comment

EFSA

EFSA has published a scientific opinion on public health risks related to the presence of ochratoxin A (OTA) in food – a mycotoxin naturally produced by moulds that can be found in a variety of foodstuffs including cereals, preserved meats, fresh and dried fruit, and cheese.

New data that have become available since the last assessment in 2006 suggest that OTA can be genotoxic by directly damaging the DNA. Experts also confirmed that it can be carcinogenic to the kidney. Therefore experts calculated a margin of exposure (MOE). This is a tool used by risk assessors to consider possible safety concerns arising from the presence in food and feed of substances which are both genotoxic and carcinogenic.

In its previous opinion, EFSA established a tolerable weekly intake (TWI) based on toxicity and carcinogenicity to the kidney.

Experts have now used a more conservative approach by calculating MOE and concluded that there is a health concern for most consumers groups. EFSA’s scientific advice will inform the European Commission in the ongoing discussion on maximum levels of OTA in foodstuffs.

EFSA consulted stakeholders and different parties on its draft opinion and comments received were considered when finalising it.

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Posted in EFSA, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Mould Toxin, Mycotoxin, Ochratoxin, Toxin, Uncategorized