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20.04.2018 - Microbiology

Foodborne Disease Outbreaks in Germany - Report by BVL and RKI

The data on foodborne disease outbreaks in Germany is collected by local health and food surveillance authorities and transmitted to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) via parallel reporting routes (according to the Infection Protection Act or BELA reports) through the state authorities.
The transmitted data is consolidated by RKI and BVL, jointly evaluated, and reported to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Based on the collected data, a joint report has been published annually by RKI and BVL since 2015. In 2016, a total of 397 foodborne disease outbreaks were reported to RKI and BVL. At least 2,508 illnesses, 256 hospitalizations, and 4 deaths were associated with the outbreaks. About half of the reported outbreaks were caused by the pathogen Campylobacter and 23% by Salmonella. In 41 outbreaks, the evidence of the link between the illnesses and a food item was rated high according to EFSA criteria. Campylobacter enteritis outbreaks accounted for the largest share of outbreaks with high evidence (23%). The Campylobacter enteritis outbreaks were most often caused by the consumption of unpasteurized raw milk.

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Source: Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety