Table 3.
Overview of published chocolate outbreaks due to Salmonella contamination
| Year | Country | Serovar | Vehicle* | Source of contamination | cfu/g | No. of affected persons | Peak of outbreak |
Age of cases |
| 1970 | Sweden | S. Durham | Chocolate products (n>1), |
Cocoa powder | / | 110 | Dec-May | 53% ≤15 years |
| 1973 – 1974 | USA, Canada | S. Eastbourne | Chocolate balls from Canada |
Cocoa beans | 2.5 | 200 | Dec-Feb. | 3 years (median) |
| 1982 | England, Wales |
S. Napoli | Chocolate bars from Italy |
Unknown | 2–23 | 272 | May-Aug | 58% ≤ 15 years |
| 1985 – 1986 | Canada | S. Nima | Chocolate coins from Belgium |
Unknown | / | / | Dec-Jan | ? |
| 1987 | Norway, Finland |
S. Typhimurium | Chocolate products, (n = 3) from Norway |
Avian contamination speculated |
≤1 | 349 | Mar-May | 6 years (median) |
| 2001– 2002 | Germany, other European countries |
S. Oranienburg | Two chocolate brands from Germany |
Unknown | 1.1–2.8 | 439 | Oct-Dec | 15 years (median) |
* In each outbreak, the identified vehicles were traced to a single manufacturer