Salmonella is the most common cause of foodborne outbreaks in the EU

Nearly one in three foodborne outbreaks in the European Union in 2018 were caused by Salmonella. This is one of the main findings of the annual report on trends and sources of zoonoses published recently by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

In 2018, EU Member States reported 5,146 foodborne outbreaks affecting 48,365 people. A foodborne disease outbreak is an incident during which at least two people contract the same illness from the same contaminated food or drink.

Slovakia, Spain, and Poland accounted for 67% of the 1,581 Salmonella outbreaks, which were mainly linked to eggs.

“Findings from our latest Eurobarometer show that less than one third of European citizens rank food poisoning from bacteria among their top five concerns when it comes to food safety. The number of reported outbreaks suggests that there’s room for raising awareness among consumers as many foodborne illnesses are preventable by improving hygiene measures when handling and preparing food” said Marta Hugas, EFSA’s chief scientist, in an agency press release.

Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) has become the third most common cause of foodborne zoonotic disease with 8,161 reported cases—replacing yersiniosis with a 37% increase compared to 2017. “This may be partly explained by the growing use of new laboratory technologies, making the detection of sporadic cases easier,” wrote the agency in the press release.

The number of people affected by listeriosis in 2018 is similar to 2017 (2,549 in 2018 against 2,480 the previous year). However, the trend has been upward over the past 10 years.

Of the zoonotic diseases covered by the report, listeriosis accounts for the highest proportion of hospitalized cases (97%) and highest number of deaths (229), making it one of the most serious foodborne diseases.

Press release

Report