A recently released report on food safety in the supply chain shows that there were 60 outbreaks affecting 1,500 people in Britain in 2023, an increase on the previous year.
The UK Food Security Report contains data available from 2021 to 2024. There are five themes, including one on food safety and consumer confidence.
In this section you will find consumer confidence trends, alerts on food safety incidents, outbreaks of foodborne illness, food crime and food business compliance with hygiene regulations.
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, an average of 2,133 food safety incidents were recorded annually between 2019/20 and 2023/24, ranging from 2,478 in 2019/20 to 1,837 in 2023/24. In Scotland, an average of 115 incidents were recorded between 2019/20 and 2023/24, ranging from 94 in 2020/21 to 139 in 2022/23.
2023 outbreak data
A quarter of all incidents in the past three years involved microorganisms that can cause diseases, such as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, Listeria and Salmonella. Data from the reporting systems of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Public Health Wales, Public Health Scotland and Public Health Agency Northern Ireland show that the number of laboratory-confirmed infections was 71,710 for Campylobacter, 10,257 for Salmonella and 762 for E. coli O157 and 203 for Listeria in 2023.
The number of reports of other STEC serogroups, such as STEC O26 and O145, has increased over the past ten years. While some of the increase is due to laboratory testing methods, officials believe there is also a real increase in cases.
In 2023, 60 outbreaks were reported in Britain, of which 16 were due to viruses and 14 were due to STEC and other diarrhoeagenic E. coli (DEC). Salmonella and Listeria caused eight each. Four were due to Campylobacter, three to Clostridium perfringens, while Shigella caused two and Cryptosporidium one. In 2023, there were 1,500 sick people linked to foodborne outbreaks, and 11 percent were hospitalized. More than 520 cases were each due to Salmonella and viruses such as norovirus. In 2022, there were 40 outbreaks with 1,468 cases.
Eight outbreaks in 2023 were traced to crustaceans, molluscs and six to beef or beef products. Five of these were each linked to poultry meat products and compound or mixed foods and four each to fruit, vegetables and dairy products.
Between 2019 and 2023, there were several major outbreaks of Salmonella, with more than 1,000 illnesses linked to poultry meat products from Poland. Another major incident was an outbreak linked to a pork snack product sold by Tayto Group in the United Kingdom.
FSA and FSS investigated five incidents involving Vibrio in shellfish products in 2022 and 2023; while four involved imported products, one was the first reported incident in British waters since records began.
Food crime and consumer views
The report also covers the key issues dealt with by the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) and the Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit (SFCIU) in 2023 and 2024. This includes dangerous non-food products sold as food and alleged crime in the meat and meat sector. products sector. Operations in the illegal tobacco trade were a key driver of signals in the meat products category. A smokie is a product in which sheep or goat carcasses are burned with the skin still on.
The FSA and FSS issued 136 food warnings in 2023/2024, compared to 154 warnings in 2022/2023. This decrease was mainly caused by the decrease in the number of allergy warnings.
Based on the results of the FSA survey, confidence in food safety in England, Wales and Northern Ireland remained stable between July 2020 and July 2023. Data out From April to July 2023, it found that 88 percent of people were confident that the food they buy is safe.
Survey results from October 2022 to January 2023 show that 40 percent report washing raw chicken at least occasionally, contrary to the FSA’s recommendation. Although 65 percent recognized an expiration date as the information that shows food is no longer safe to consume, people reported eating food after this date. Salad and bagged cheese were the items respondents were most likely to eat after the expiration date.
According to the report, the shortage of food officers in local authorities is impacting the frequency of business inspections and associated enforcement actions. This could affect consumers’ access to safe food and their confidence in the effective regulation of the food system.
Trends show that the number of food samples taken by local authorities has decreased over the past decade, partly due to a reduction in local government resources and general financial constraints.
Of the inspected companies, the analysis indicates an increasing trend in food hygiene compliance. However, there is still a backlog in the number of outlets awaiting inspection.
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