Jurriën timber
— OPINION —
Hands-up if you had bongkrekic acid, botulism, and supplements on your bingo card as being the things that would cause significant outbreaks in 2024. It is fair to say, I didn’t.
This year saw two major incidents in Asia involving bongkrekic acid and contaminated supplements as well as South Africa declaring a national disaster because of a rise in food poisoning cases.
Europe was not excluded from outbreaks with examples including E. coli O145 in Iceland with 49 infections and 12 hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) cases. Imported eggs from Ukraine resulted in around 100 Salmonella infections in Sweden. A couple of Yersinia outbreaks in France were caused by cheese. Finland reported a Hepatitis E outbreak with 120 cases traced to meat products.
Salmonella and Italy
Italian produce has been in the news for the wrong reasons. An outbreak with 200 Salmonella Umbilo cases occurred between July and September in nine European countries. Germany was the most affected with 118 infections. Salmonella Umbilo was detected in rocket salad (also known as arugula or rucola), and later in baby spinach. Both items came from the same company in Italy.
Another multi-country Salmonella outbreak was linked to tomatoes from Italy. Salmonella Strathcona sickened more than 250 people.
Alfalfa seeds from Italy contaminated with Salmonella sickened 71 people in Norway and 100 in Sweden. The majority of cases in Norway were infected by Salmonella Newport but some were caused by Salmonella Typhimurium. In Sweden, people were infected by Salmonella Typhimurium from August to November.
Bongkrekic acid
A deadly outbreak in Taiwan led to at least 33 cases and five deaths in March. The rare toxin, Bongkrekic acid, which is produced by the bacterium Burkholderia gladioli pathovar cocovenenans, was responsible for illnesses. Sick people ate cooked wet rice noodles in the same eastern Taipei shopping mall’s restaurant.
Bongkrekic acid was detected on samples from one of the chef’s hands in the restaurant but no food samples from the restaurant or its suppliers, including two types of rice noodles, showed contamination.
Supplements with red yeast rice
In Japan, supplements containing red yeast rice provided by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical were linked to nearly 2,700 illnesses, including more than 500 patients treated in hospital and almost 400 deaths, with some due to acute renal failure resembling Fanconi syndrome. These figures were reported by the company.
The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare in Japan announced the detection of puberulic acid in red yeast rice supplements. Puberlic acid was produced by a blue mold (Penicillium adametzioides). Contamination at the fermentation stage is suspected. In August, the company said it would stop making and selling red yeast rice-related products.
UK and salad
The United Kingdom was hit by a national outbreak of E. coli O145 with cases in April to June. A total of 292 people fell sick and two deaths were recorded, although only one of these was linked to STEC infection. Seven cases of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) were associated with the outbreak. Domestically produced apollo lettuce was the most likely source of contamination. Samworth Brothers, This! and Greencore Group recalled a range of sandwich products.
Botulism in Russia and Saudi Arabia
A serious botulism outbreak in Russia was traced to ready-made salad sold by a food delivery company. The name of the involved business translates into English as Local Kitchen. Overall, 417 cases were reported across 11 regions and two people died, according to a study published in the journal Global Biosecurity. At least 172 cases were hospitalized, and 43 required mechanical ventilation. The suspected food was beans in the salad. A criminal case has been opened and several lawsuits have been filed.
Saudi Arabia also reported its first foodborne botulism outbreak. Overall, 75 people were sickened after consuming mayonnaise at a burger restaurant chain. According to the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA), laboratory tests found Clostridium Botulinum in a sample of BON TUM mayonnaise served at the restaurant.
Main European developments
There are always rules being introduced, modified, or coming into force but highlights from this year include a change to Listeria rules, which will apply from July 2026.
The EU Commission has picked three more European reference laboratories (EURLs) for public health. They cover food and waterborne bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
A public consultation was held on plans to require EU countries to do whole genome sequencing analysis during outbreak investigations. More information about this is expected in 2025.
The EU Commission also adopted a ban on the use of Bisphenol A (BPA) in food contact materials.
WHO and FAO work
The World Health Organization (WHO) and UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have been hard at work having meetings and producing food safety-related reports. One of the main developments was WHO creating the Alliance for Food Safety to help with foodborne disease surveillance. The first meeting was in May in Geneva and Oman will host the next one in 2025.
Other major reports covered attribution of foodborne viruses, control methods for Salmonella and Campylobacter in chicken meat, and food allergens.
Hopefully we will soon hear more from the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN), as all has gone quiet regarding activities in 2024.
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