EFSA looks at public health risks from foods of non-animal origin

Foods of non-animal origin include a wide variety of fruit, vegetables, salads, seeds, nuts, cereals, herbs, and spices. They are an important part of our daily diet. According to the scientific opinion published today by the Panel on Biological Hazards, foods of animal origin continue to be the source of the majority of all documented and reported outbreaks (90%). However the number of outbreaks, human cases, and hospitalisations associated with food of non-animal origin has increased over this period.

Outbreaks associated with these foods tend to involve more human cases but are usually less severe in terms of hospitalisations and deaths than those associated with foods of animal origin. However, when considering trends from 2007 to 2011, showing that outbreaks related to  foods on non-animal origin were associated with 10% of outbreaks, 26% of human cases, 35% of hospitalisations and 46% of deaths, one should consider the high health impact of the 2011 sprout-associated outbreak of Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli. If data from this large outbreak are excluded, foods of non-animal origin were associated with 5% of all deaths from reported foodborne outbreaks.

Developing a risk ranking model

The Panel developed a model to support risk managers in ranking risks related to foodborne illness from foods of non-animal origin. The top-ranking combination of foods and pathogens (viruses, bacteria or parasites) in the period considered was Salmonella and leafy greens eaten raw followed by the following combinations, all ranked equally: Salmonella and bulb and stem vegetables (such as asparagus, onion, garlic, etc); Salmonella and tomatoes, Salmonella and melons; and pathogenic E. coli and fresh pods, legumes or grains.

As with all models, the resulting analysis has some limitations associated with the data considered.
The Panel used zoonoses monitoring data collected from Member States which provide information on the number and severity of food-borne diseaseoutbreaks across all Member States.

However, the importance of some combinations may be overestimated and additional food/pathogen combinations may be identified if data from future EU monitoring is considered. The model is also likely to underestimate the importance of diseases of a more sporadic nature, such as those due to Listeria monocytogenes or Campylobacter. 

EFSA’s scientific opinion recommends the adoption of harmonised terminology when categorising foods for data collection purposes, as well as the collection of additional information on how individual foods are prepared, processed and stored.

Next steps

In 2013, EFSA will analyse factors contributing to the risks from the pathogen/food combinations identified in the scientific opinion. Where relevant, mitigating options and microbiological criteria will also be investigated for specific pathogen/food combinations.

• Scientific Opinion on the risk posed by pathogens in food of non-animal origin