TABLE 58.
Top‐10 pathogen/food vehicle pairs causing the highest number of deaths in strong‐evidence outbreaks in reporting EU MSs, 2022.
| 2022 a | 2018–2021 a,b | Evaluation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank c | Causative agent | Food vehicle | Deaths (N) | Reporting MS (N deaths) | Rank c | Deaths (N/year) (range) | Reporting MS (N/year) | 2022 versus 2018–2021 d |
| 1 | Listeria monocytogenes | Broiler meat (Gallus gallus) and products thereof e | 5 | Italy (5) | 3 | 1.8 (0–7) | 0.25 | ↑↑ |
| 1 | Listeria monocytogenes | Vegetables and juices and other products thereof f | 5 | Finland (5) | 5 | 1.3 (0–5) | 0.50 | ↑↑ |
| 1 | Streptococcus equi | Cheese | 5 | Italy (5) | NA | 0 | 0 | NA |
| 2 | Staphylococcus aureus toxins | Eggs and egg products | 3 | Poland (3) | NA | 0 | 0 | NA |
| 2 | Listeria monocytogenes | Pig meat and products thereof g | 3 | Italy (1), Netherlands (1), Hungary (1) h | 3 | 1.8 (0–5) | 0.50 | ↑↑ |
| 3 | Listeria monocytogenes | Dairy products (other than cheeses) | 2 | Austria (2) | NA | 0 | 0 | NA |
| 3 | Listeria monocytogenes | Fish and fish products i | 2 | Austria (2) | 1 | 3.0 (0–8) | 0.75 | ↓ |
| 4 | Listeria monocytogenes | Mixed food j | 1 | Germany (1) | 6 | 1.0 (0–4) | 0.25 | ‐ |
| 4 | Salmonella | Pig meat and products thereof k | 1 | Germany (1) | 8 | 0.50 (0–2) | 0.25 | ↑↑ |
| 4 | Mushroom toxins | Vegetables and juices and other products thereof | 1 | Spain (1) | NA | 0 | 0 | NA |
Abbreviation: NA, Not Applicable.
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 deaths 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, ‘Broiler meat (Gallus gallus) and products thereof’ includes ‘meat from broilers (Gallus gallus) ‐ meat products’ (5).
In 2022, ‘Vegetables and juices and other products thereof’ includes ‘vegetables’, ‘vegetables – pre‐cut’ (5).
In 2022, ‘Pig meat and products thereof’ includes ‘meat from pig – meat products’ (1), ‘meat from pig – meat products ‐ ready‐to‐eat’ (1), ‘pig meat and products thereof’ (1).
During the last phase of the production of this draft report, Hungary informed us that the one strong‐evidence outbreak (one death) caused by Listeria monocytogenes, with ‘pig meat and products thereof’ as the implicated food vehicle was reported in error.
In 2022, ‘Fish and fish products’ includes ‘fish – smoked’ (2).
In 2022, ‘Mixed food’ includes ‘ready‐to‐eat salads’ (1).
In 2022, ‘Pig meat and products thereof’ includes ‘meat from pig – fresh’ (1).