A comparison of European surveillance programs for Campylobacter in broilers

• Published in: Food Control
• Main Authors: Olsen, Abbey, Bonardi, Silvia, Barco, Lisa, Sandberg, Marianne, Langkabel, Nina, Roasto, Mati, Majewski, Michał, Brugger, Brigitte, Kautto, Arja, Blagojevic, Bojan, Cota, Joao, Nagel-Alne, Gunvor Elise, Huneau, Adeline, Laukkanen-Ninios, Riikka, Lebouquin-Leneveu, Sophie, Alvseike, Ole, Fredriksson-Ahomaa, Maria, Vieira-Pinto, Madalena, Kaukonen, Eija
• Other Authors: IT University of Copenhagen (ITU), Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet = Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Università degli studi di Parma = University of Parma (UNIPR), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe), Freie Universität Berlin, Estonian University of Life Sciences (EMU), Poznan University of Life Sciences (Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy w Poznaniu) (PULS), Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority, Partenaires INRAE, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences = Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet (SLU), University of Novi Sad, Centro de Investigaçao Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal (CIISA), Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária-Technical University of Lisbon, Norwegian Meat Research Centre, Laboratoire de Ploufragan-Plouzané-Niort ANSES, Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail (ANSES), Epidémiologie, Santé et Bien-être (EPISABE), Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail (ANSES)-Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail (ANSES), Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, TKK Helsinki University of Technology (TKK), Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), Universidade do Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Helsingin yliopisto = Helsingfors universitet = University of Helsinki, This publication is based upon work from COST Action 18105 (Risk-based Meat Inspection and Integrated Meat Safety Assurance; www.ribmins.com), supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology; www.cost.eu). Participation of Madalena Vieira-Pinto was supported by projects UIDP/00772/2020 and LA/P/0059/2020, funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT).
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2024
• Subjects: Broilers; Campylobacter; Europe; Monitoring; Poultry Surveillance; [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; Iceland
• Online Access: https://anses.hal.science/anses-04416244; https://anses.hal.science/anses-04416244/document; https://anses.hal.science/anses-04416244/file/Olsen_Food%20Control_2024.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2023.110059

International audience Campylobacter is an important foodborne pathogen as it is associated with significant disease burden across Europe. Among various sources, Campylobacter infections in humans are often related to the consumption of undercooked poultry meat or improper handling of poultry meat. Many European countries have implemented measures to reduce human exposure to Campylobacter from broiler meat. In this paper, surveillance programs implemented in some European countries is summarized. Our findings reveal that many European countries test neck skin samples for Campylobacter as per the Process Hygiene Criterion (PHC) set by the European Regulation. Variations to the legal plan are seen in some countries, as in Norway and Iceland, where weekly sampling is performed during infection peak periods only, or in Iceland, where the Campylobacter limit is set at 500 CFU/g instead of 1000 CFU/g. Furthermore, northern European countries have implemented national Campylobacter surveillance plans. Denmark tests cloaca and leg skin samples at the slaughterhouses and meat samples at the retail, while Finland, Norway, and Sweden test caeca at slaughterhouses. In contrast, Iceland tests feces on farms. Iceland and Norway test flocks close to the slaughter date and when a farm tests positive, competent authority implement measures such as logistic slaughter, heat treatment or freeze the meat from these flocks. In Iceland, frozen meat is further processed prior to being put on the market. While the incidence of campylobacteriosis has declined in all European countries except France since the introduction of PHC in 2018, it is uncertain whether this decrease is due to prevalence reduction or underreporting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future investigations with more comprehensive data, devoid of potential confounding factors, are necessary to validate this potential trend. However, it is evident that the implementation of national action plans can be successful in reducing the incidence of human campylobacteriosis, as ...