Epidemiological Surveillance of Foodborne Diseases

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Epidemiological surveillance is one of the fundamental elements of public health, as it focuses on the systemized gathering, assessment, and interpretation of health information. This is particularly important for food-borne diseases since they have the potential to cause a big burden to society and the economy. Surveillance is crucial in identifying early signs of an outbreak, determining the main cause, and developing measures to stop the infection from spreading. Kolavic Forma and colleagues discuss different factors in the epidemiological surveillance of foodborne diseases, from which this article derives insights from different studies and evaluations of the surveillance systems carried out.

Surveillance Systems and Their Importance

Foodborne communicable diseases are elements that a surveillance system is particularly aimed at monitoring and reporting occurrences of people getting ill due to contaminated food. Such systems gather information about the pathogen type, the food involved in the incident, the number of people affected, and many others. For example, the Brazilian Epidemiological Surveillance System on Foodborne Diseases (VE-DTA) was assessed concerning its data quality, especially regarding the records’ completeness, 10 years after its establishment. The study focused on the fact that the quantity confirmation of the VE-DTA system manifested 7037 outbreaks in general, which was characterized by the overall completeness classification belonging to Category 1, pointing to a high degree of data quality.

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Effects of methods practiced in food manufacturing

This blog seeks to establish the importance of understanding the manufacturing processes relating to foods, as they contribute significantly to the occurrence of foodborne diseases. Frights can be caused by contamination during food processing, storage, and preparation. For instance, a review article noted the consequences involved in manipulation practices, ascertaining that pathogens, for instance, Staphylococcus spp. The present study aimed to investigate the microbial load of thermophilic bacteria and thermophilic salmonellas in three types of poultry: chicken, turkey, and duck.

Generally, the microbial load of Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., and Campylobacter spp. are major concerns. The study also emphasized the need to maintain good manufacturing practices to avoid cases of foodborne illnesses.

New Trends in Non-Thermal Methods

Novel forms of technology in food processing are also determining the state of affairs of food safety. High pressure, ultrasonics, and cold plasma are some of the non-thermal methods that have been established to retain the nutritional and organoleptic quality of foods and, at the same time, realize pathogen reduction. These technologies provide opportunities to improve the quality of foods and look for methods that will help to increase their safety and decrease the dangers of foodborne illnesses.

It reviewed contaminated mycotoxins in spices and culinary herbs at supplier/consumer levels and the magnitude of risk to humans assaulted by contaminated spices and culinary herbs.

Another major concern in food safety is that spices and culinary herbs are also contaminated with mycotoxins. Research carried out on mycotoxins in spices and herbs from Italy and Tunisia revealed that although some samples contained AFB2, AFG1, AFG2, T2, and HT2, none contained AFB1 and FB1. In Australia, it was realized that this called for measures to reduce mycotoxin contamination in agriculture, industries, and manufacturers of food products to enhance the health of consumers.

Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA)

Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) models are very important in assessing risks connected to foodborne pathogens. A quantitative meta-analysis of beef QMRA models suggested the high risk of beef meat in foodborne diseases in Europe. It also noted that there are potential problems in WDA’s future, such as the necessity of whole-chain evaluations and issues with models’ integration. Such assessments are useful for the decision-making processes in food safety and for defining definite monitoring and research activities.

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Conclusion

Monitoring of foodborne diseases is an important activity that helps sustain and improve the health of people, besides aiding in the protection of food. Thus, such factors as the comprehensiveness and quality of data in the surveillance systems, meeting the GMP requirements, and the use of superior processing technologies are key determinants in this drive. Further studies and optimization of these fields are very useful for the early identification of the source of foodborne outbreaks and for protecting the interests of consumers.

References

  1. Draeger CL, Akutsu RCCA, Araújo WMC, da Silva ICR, Botelho RBA, Zandonadi RP. Epidemiological Surveillance System on Foodborne Diseases in Brazil after 10-Years of Its Implementation: Completeness Evaluation. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Oct 17;15(10):2284. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15102284. PMID: 30336631; PMCID: PMC6210259.
  2. Sousa, C.P.D., 2008. The impact of food manufacturing practices on food borne diseases. Brazilian Archives of biology and Technology, 51, pp.615-623.
  3. Bevilacqua A, Petruzzi L, Perricone M, Speranza B, Campaniello D, Sinigaglia M, Corbo MR. Nonthermal Technologies for Fruit and Vegetable Juices and Beverages: Overview and Advances. Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf. 2018 Jan;17(1):2-62. doi: 10.1111/1541-4337.12299. Epub 2017 Nov 1. PMID: 33350062.
  4. Potortì AG, Tropea A, Lo Turco V, Pellizzeri V, Belfita A, Dugo G, Di Bella G. Mycotoxins in spices and culinary herbs from Italy and Tunisia. Nat Prod Res. 2020 Jan;34(1):167-171. doi: 10.1080/14786419.2019.1598995. Epub 2019 Apr 8. PMID: 30957566.
  5. Tesson V, Federighi M, Cummins E, de Oliveira Mota J, Guillou S, Boué G. A Systematic Review of Beef Meat Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment Models. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Jan 21;17(3):688. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17030688. PMID: 31973083; PMCID: PMC7037662.

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