TABLE 56.
Top‐10 pathogen/food vehicle pairs causing the highest number of cases in strong‐evidence outbreaks in reporting EU MSs, 2022.
| 2022 | 2018–2021 a,b | Evaluation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank c | Causative agent | Food vehicle | Cases (N) | Reporting MS (N cases) | Rank c | Cases (N/year) (range) | Reporting MS (N/year) | 2022 versus 2018–2021 d |
| 1 | Clostridium perfringens toxins | Other or mixed red meat and products thereof e | 961 | Portugal (950), Finland (8), France (3) | 34 | 55.8 (28–195) | 0.75 | ↑↑ |
| 2 | Salmonella | Eggs and egg products f | 508 | Spain (265), Poland (80), France (78), Slovakia (39), Belgium (25), Italy (9), Austria (8), Lithuania (4) | 1 | 1000.5 (303–1989) | 8.8 | ↓ |
| 3 | Norovirus (and other calicivirus) | Mixed food g | 476 | Spain (200), Denmark (91), Finland (57), Germany (50), Sweden (48), Poland (24), Belgium (6) | 5 | 419.5 (223–735) | 4.5 | – |
| 4 | Staphylococcus aureus toxins | Mixed food h | 466 | Sweden (160), Portugal (136), Spain (78), Croatia (74), Germany (14), Romania (4) | 16 | 126.3 (3–212) | 4.3 | ↑↑ |
| 5 | Clostridium perfringens toxins | Meat and meat products, unspecified | 368 | Spain (368) | 33 | 56.0 (23–142) | 1.8 | ↑↑ |
| 6 | Norovirus (and other calicivirus) | Water i | 309 | Italy (177), Slovenia (94), Sweden (20), Czechia (18) | 4 | 550.0 (8–1089) | 3.0 | ↓ |
| 7 | Salmonella | Pig meat and products thereof j | 294 | France (135), Germany (83), Greece (35), Italy (35), Lithuania (2), Poland (2), Spain (2) | 13 | 209.0 (69–301) | 6.8 | ↑ |
| 8 | Clostridium perfringens toxins | Other food | 266 | Spain (266) | 27 | 67.8 (13–193) | 1.3 | ↑↑ |
| 9 | Salmonella | Mixed food k | 246 | Finland (97), Spain (71), Slovakia (29), Germany (22), Romania (17), Hungary (7), France (3) | 2 | 796.5 (91–1595) | 8.0 | ↓↓ |
| 10 | Norovirus (and other calicivirus) | Buffet meals | 236 | Sweden (138), Denmark (92), Finland (6) | 10 | 227.0 (121–399) | 3.3 | – |
For the 2021–2022 period, data on FBOs from the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland) were taken into account. In accordance with the agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU, and in particular with the Ireland/Northern Ireland protocol, the EU requirements on data sampling are also applicable to the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland).
For the 2018–2019 period, data on FBOs from the United Kingdom were taken into account, because the United Kingdom was still an EU MS at that time. However, on 1 February 2020 it became a third country.
Ranking of the food vehicle based on the number of cases of illness in strong‐evidence FBOs in which the combination (causative agent/food vehicle) was implicated (rank 1 is the highest rank meaning the most commonly implicated). Strong‐evidence outbreaks with unknown causative agents are not included.
A single arrow indicates variations of 25% and 50% in the number of outbreaks; double arrows indicate variations > 50%; a ‘stable' value indicates variations of between −25% and + 25%.
:In 2022, ‘Other or mixed red meat and products thereof’ includes ‘meat, mixed meat – meat products – ready‐to‐eat’ (950), ‘meat from deer (venison) – meat preparation – intended to be eaten cooked’ (8), ‘other or mixed red meat and products thereof’ (3).
In 2022, ‘Eggs and egg products’ include ‘eggs and egg products’ (469), ‘eggs’ (39).
In 2022, ‘Mixed food’ includes ‘mixed food’ (246), ‘other processed food products and prepared dishes – sandwiches’ (78), ‘other processed food products and prepared dishes – meat based dishes’ (61), ‘other processed food products and prepared dishes’ (50), ‘ready‐to‐eat salads’ (21), ‘other processed food products and prepared dishes – sandwiches – with meat’ (20).
In 2022, ‘Mixed food’ includes ‘other processed food products and prepared dishes – pasta’ (160), ‘mixed food’ (116), ‘other processed food products and prepared dishes’ (113), ‘other processed food products and prepared dishes – rice based dishes’ (32), ‘other processed food products and prepared dishes – finger food’ (23), ‘other processed food products and prepared dishes – meat based dishes’ (14), ‘other processed food products and prepared dishes – pasta – filled pasta’ (4), ‘other processed food products and prepared dishes – pizza and pizza‐like dishes’ (4).
In 2022, ‘Water’ includes ‘tap water, including well water’ (215), ‘water – potable water’ (94).
In 2022, ‘Pig meat and products thereof’ includes ‘pig meat and products thereof’ (188), ‘meat from pig – meat products – meat specialities’ (36), ‘meat from pig – fresh’ (26), ‘meat from pig – minced meat – intended to be eaten raw’ (19), ‘meat from pig – meat products – ready‐to‐eat’ (15), ‘cured seasoned pork meat’ (8), ‘meat from pig – meat products – fresh raw sausages’ (2).
In 2022, ‘Mixed food’ includes ‘other processed food products and prepared dishes – sandwiches – with meat’ (97), ‘mixed food’ (96), ‘other processed food products and prepared dishes – meat based dishes’ (24), ‘other processed food products and prepared dishes – sandwiches’ (12), ‘ready‐to‐eat salads’ (10), ‘other processed food products and prepared dishes’ (3), ‘other processed food products and prepared dishes – fish and seafood based dishes’ (2), ‘sauce and dressings’ (2).