Only two topics were considered emerging risks by European experts in 2022.
An annual report on the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) activities on emerging risks shows that 13 issues were discussed in 2022, but only two were discussed. concluded that these are new risks. In 2021, 18 issues were discussed and eight were identified as emerging risks.
EFSA’s networks contributing to the identification of emerging risks include the Emerging Risks Exchange Network (EREN), the Stakeholder Discussion Group on Emerging Risks, the EFSA Scientific Units, the Scientific Panels, the Scientific Committee and their working groups.
An emerging concern has been the risk of zoonotic transmission of Mpox virus (MPXV) from infected humans to animals in newly infected countries. Mpox was previously known as monkeypox.
According to the French Agency for Food, Environment and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), a risk assessment has been carried out to investigate the likelihood of MPXV transmission through food during its handling and consumption. Conclusions suggest that the risk of transmission through food is hypothetical and such an event has never been reported.
The other emerging risk was canine brucellosis due to infection with Brucella canis in several European countries.
Other issues are being monitored
Areas not considered emerging risk included a previous outbreak caused by Salmonella Typhimurium in the seed pods of ispaghula. Fifty-four cases were identified in Denmark from November 2020 to July 2021. In a case-control study, cases reported consuming a brand of ispaghula seed husk capsules. The outbreak strain was found in an open container at a patient’s home and in a reference sample from the manufacturer.
Raw seeds were imported from India and used in nutritional supplements. The manufacturers of the herbal medicines and nutritional supplements performed heat treatment of raw psyllium seeds. A link was made with the EU action on ethylene oxide. Experts say the EU ban on ethylene oxide could lead to an increase in pathogens in food and ingredients and similar outbreaks.
Another topic was the emergence of Clinostomum complanatum in commercial freshwater fish in France. In East Asia, the disease is known as Halzoun syndrome and is caused by the worm’s settlement in the pharynx or larynx of humans. People become infected when they eat raw or undercooked fish meat and elimination of the parasite requires surgical intervention.
The lack of cases in Europe may be due to traditional cooking practices. However, freshwater fish such as bass are often consumed raw or marinated in restaurants in France and Switzerland.
In France, knowledge of the geographic distribution and epidemiological data of the parasite is limited and diagnostic tools are suboptimal. There is also no information on the effect of freezing and heat treatments on the viability of the parasitic flatworm. In 2019, five randomly sampled perch from a batch of twenty individuals collected by fishing associations in the Doubs River in the Jura-Franche Comté were infected with 3 to 14 larvae of Clinostomum complanatum each.
EREN recommended monitoring the presence of the parasite and gathering more information.
Other issues included research showing that the list of foods potentially contaminated with Toxoplasma or other parasites may be longer than previously thought, and the impact of gas prices on the availability of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is used in the food and beverage industry for a variety of purposes, such as adding bubbles to beer and soft drinks, anesthetic gas for livestock, and extending the shelf life of foods with modified atmosphere packaging (MAP).
Rising electricity prices expose food companies to additional financial pressure, which can lead to cutbacks, such as lowering the temperature of cold storage to reduce costs, and lowering the temperature for hot water cleaning, which poses the risk of microbiological contamination.
An updated risk involved Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) O121 in flour. Monitoring and research on bacterial contamination in flour and dough products in Slovakia highlighted the potential microbiological risks, especially with the increasing popularity of alternative flours consumed without cooking. Experts said the data so far was insufficient to change previous conclusions, but continued monitoring of contamination at primary production levels was necessary.
Other signals included the illegal entry of fish, E. coli in edible insects, increased consumption of crocodile meat and poisonings by the mushroom Chlorophyllum molybdites in Italy.
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