Food safety incidents
During the first quarter of 2022, the INFOSAN Secretariat was involved in 47 food safety incidents involving 141 WHO Member States (MS) and territories. There were 25 incidents involving a biological hazard [Salmonella spp. (9), Listeria monocytogenes (7), Escherichia coli (5), Bacillus cereus (1), Cronobacter sakazakii (1), Norovirus (1) and one incident with an unknown biological hazard]; 11 involving an undeclared allergen/ingredient [milk (3), egg (2), nuts (2), almonds (1), hazelnuts (1), pistachio (1), soy (1)]; eight involving a physical hazard [metal (3), glass (2), insects (1), mouse (1), plastic (1)]; three involving a chemical hazard [ethylene oxide (1), 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (1) and one involving an unknown chemical hazard].
The food categories most commonly involved in the 47 incidents during the first quarter of 2022 were: snacks, desserts, and other foods (8), cereals and cereals based products (7), vegetables and vegetable products (6), composite food (4), milk and dairy products (4), nuts and oilseeds (4), alcoholic beverages (2), fish and other seafood (2), eggs (1), food additives (1), food for infants and small children (1), fruit and fruit products (1), fruit and vegetable juices (1), herbs spices and condiments (1), legumes and pulses (1), meat and meat products (1), and two involving unknown sources.
The INFOSAN Secretariat has maintained significant activity in food safety incidents during the first quarter of 2022 reaching 47 food safety incidents communicated through INFOSAN. Due to the active engagement of INFOSAN members and partners, 49% of those incidents were reported to the Secretariat by INFOSAN members (Emergency Contact Points and Focal Points), 34% through the European Commission’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), and 17% through various WHO internal channels.
Geographic scope
These incidents involved 141 WHO Member States and territories from all WHO regions. The affected Member States were distributed as follows: 53 out of 53 Member States from the European Region, 24 out of 47 in Africa, 21 out of 35 in the Americas, 13 out of 21 in the Eastern Mediterranean, 14 out of 27 in the Western Pacific, and finally 4 out of 11 in South-East Asia; as well as to 12 territories associated to WHO Member States
News & Activities
Cronobacter sakazakii and Salmonella Newport cases linked to Powdered Infant Formula from the United States of America, with international distribution.
On 17 February 2022, the INFOSAN Secretariat was notified by the INFOSAN Emergency Contact Point (ECP) in the United States of America about a consumer complaint concerning infections of Cronobacter sakazakii and Salmonella Newport possibly linked to the consumption of powdered infant formula produced at one of the facilities of a single manufacturer in the USA. As of 17 February 2022, four cases of illness were associated with the consumption of implicated products (three cases of Cronobacter and one case of Salmonella). All four cases were hospitalized, including one deceased for which Cronobacter might have been the cause.
As of 26 February 2022, the INFOSAN Secretariat has been informed by the ECP in the USA that the implicated products were distributed to 53 Member States and territories: Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Barbados, Bermuda (UK), Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Guam (USA), Guatemala, Hong Kong SAR (China), India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico (USA), Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America and Viet Nam.
The members of the recipient countries were informed by the INFOSAN Secretariat of the distribution details of the products to their countries. Recalls in several countries were initiated.
Ongoing investigations in the USA have shown that the Salmonella Newport illness previously included in this investigation of complaints is not linked to the consumption of the infant formula in question. At the beginning of investigations, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) included all consumer complaints of illness with exposure to products from the factory in question. As the investigation developed, the FDA has determined that there is not enough information to definitively link this illness to powdered infant formula. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that this single Salmonella illness is not linked to the outbreak.
More information could be found on the FDA and CDC websites here:
FDA: https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/fda-investigation-cronobacter-infections-powdered-infant-formula-february-2022
CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/cronobacter/outbreaks/source-date/index.html
Multi-country outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium monophasic linked to chocolate products
On 27 March 2022, the WHO was notified by the IHR National Focal Point in the United Kingdom of an outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium monophasic t5.7575 in the United Kingdom with an unidentified source. The INFOSAN Secretariat engaged the INFOSAN Emergency Contact Point (ECP) in the United Kingdom to seek further information about the outbreak, the identification of any possible sources and an international distribution of such.
As investigations moved forward, epidemiological and molecular evidence linked the outbreak to chocolate products, produced in a factory in Belgium. As a result, Belgian authorities stopped production in the facility and initiated a recall of all batched of products manufactured in the implicated facility.
The INFOSAN Secretariat was notified of international distribution of the implicated products to 113 Member States and Territories. To date, the list includes Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba (Netherlands), Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, British Virgin Islands (UK), Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cayman Islands (United Kingdom), Central African Republic, China, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Curaçao (Netherlands), Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana (France), French Polynesia (France), Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guadeloupe (France), Guinea, Hong Kong SAR (China), Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo1, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mali, Malta, Martinique (France), Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte (France), Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, New Caledonia (France), New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Oman, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of North Macedonia, Réunion (France), Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uzbekistan, Vatican City and Viet Nam.
Considering the potential implications of the incident, and the scale of the international distribution of the products, the INFOSAN Secretariat, in collaboration with ECPs in implicated countries, issued an INFOSAN Global Alert to inform all INFOSAN members of the incident, allowing them to initiate investigations within their country to identify whether the products have been distributed to their countries, and to identify possible cases related to the outbreak.
Through internal WHO surveillance channels, and in collaboration with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), the INFOSAN Secretariat was informed of cases of Salmonella being identified in several European countries: As of 27 April 2022, a total of 151 genetically related cases suspected to be linked to the consumption of the implicated chocolate products have been reported from 11 countries.
A news piece covering this outbreak with additional information was published on the WHO Disease Outbreak News, available here. Further information about investigations in European Member States on this incident can be found in the related ECDC/EFSA Rapid Outbreak Assessment, here.
Looking forward
For the second quarter of the year, the INFOSAN Secretariat is organizing several capacity-building activities requested by Member States; such as a training session for new INFOSAN members in Mexico, followed by national workshops for members in Benin, Guatemala, and Sierra Leone.
INFOSAN Members interested in organizing similar activities can contact the INFOSAN Secretariat at infosan@who.int.
1 All references to Kosovo, whether the territory, institutions or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations' Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.