Frank Boelaert - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Frank Boelaert

In February 1999, a poisoning episode broke out in several industrial poultry farms in Belgium. T... more In February 1999, a poisoning episode broke out in several industrial poultry farms in Belgium. The source of this contamination was found to be a stock of recycled fat that had been delivered by a firm to several compound feed producers, between 19 and 31 January 1999. A very good correlation was observed between dioxins (PCDFs and PCDDs) and PCBs. Consequently a contamination mainly by PCBs was hypothesized. This finding made it possible to detect contaminated animals and animal products by dosage of the PCBs, more specifically by the 7 congeners with numbers 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153 and 180. The advantages of the dosage of PCBs compared to dioxins were its rapid test protocol and the fact that a larger number of laboratories could participate. In the cattle sector, 409 herds (0,81 p. cent) were submitted to the risk of feed contamination. The methodology used to detect a PCBs/dioxins contamination in the Belgian cattle population that was not submitted to the risk, is presented. This population is directly or indirectly destined for human consumption. It consisted in the systematic sampling of all calve fattening stations and all lots of exported bovines, and in the random sampling of slaughter cattle. This methodology is compared to the approach described in directive 96/23/CE.La contamination par les polychlorobiphényls PCBs/dioxines de la chaîne alimentaire en Belgique s'est révélée en février 1999 dans des élevages industriels de volailles. Fin avril 1999, suite à l'enquête alimentaire, il s'est avéré que la source de contamination était un stock de graisses recyclées ayant été livrées par une firme à plusieurs fabricants d'aliments composés pour animaux, entre le 15 et le 31 janvier 1999. Une relation étroite a été mise en évidence entre les quantités de dioxines (PCDFs et PCDDs) et celles des PCBs, étayant ainsi l'hypothèse d'une contamination principale par les PCBs. Cette constatation a permis de baser le dépistage des animaux et des produits animaux susceptibles d'avoir été contaminés sur le dosage des 7 congénères PCBs numéros 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153 et 180. Ce dosage offrait l'avantage d'être rapide et réalisable par un plus grand nombre de laboratoires contrairement à celui des dioxines. En ce qui concerne le secteur des bovins, 409 troupeaux ont été soumis au risque alimentaire (0,81 p. cent du total des troupeaux belges). Ces troupeaux ont été placés sous saisie conservatoire et la levée de celle-ci a été effectuée soit sur base des résultats d'enquêtes épidémiologiques et alimentaires, soit sur base des résultats d'analyses PCBs/dioxines effectuées sur un échantillonnage représentatif des troupeaux bovins concernés ou soit sur base de la mise à mort et l’incinération de tous les bovins des 6 troupeaux pour lesquels des résultats d’analyses PCBs/dioxines étaient supérieurs aux normes fixées (PCBs : ≤ 100 ng/g MG dans le lait, ≤ 200 ng/g MG dans les graisses corporelles ; dioxines ≤ 5 pg TEQ/g MG) [Anonyme, 1999]. L'approche méthodologique qui a été utilisée pour détecter une contamination par les PCBs/dioxines au sein de la population des bovins belges non soumise au risque alimentaire est présentée. Cette approche est basée sur l'échantillonnage systématique de toutes les stations d'engraissement de veaux, l'échantillonnage systématique des lots de bovins destinés à l'exportation et l'échantillonnage aléatoire des bovins abattus en Belgique durant une semaine. Cette approche est comparée à celle préconisée par la directive 96/23/CE du Conseil.Peer reviewe

1 Europese Auto ri teit voor Voed sel vei lig heid (Eu ro pe an Food Sa fe ty Aut ho ri ty), Pa l... more 1 Europese Auto ri teit voor Voed sel vei lig heid (Eu ro pe an Food Sa fe ty Aut ho ri ty), Pa laz zo Ducale, Parco Ducale 3, I-43100 Parma, Italië 2 Coördinatiecentrum voor Diergeneeskundige Diagnostiek, Centrum voor Onderzoek in Diergeneeskunde en Agrochemie, Groeselenberg 99, B-1180 Brussel 3 Vakgroep Verloskunde, Voortplanting en Bedrijfsdiergeneeskunde, Afdeling voor Veterinaire Epidemiologie, Faculteit Diergeneeskunde, Universiteit Gent, Salisburylaan 133, B-9820 Merelbeke frank.boelaert@efsa.eu.int

Journal of food protection, 2018

Microbial contamination of fresh produce (fresh fruits and vegetables) poses serious public healt... more Microbial contamination of fresh produce (fresh fruits and vegetables) poses serious public health concerns worldwide. This study was conducted as a comprehensive analysis of biological hazards in the global fresh produce chain. Data about produce-related outbreaks and illness were collected from the annual reports and databases of foodborne outbreak surveillance systems in different regions and countries from 2010 to 2015. The global patterns of and regional differences in documented outbreaks and cases were analyzed, and produce commodities and pathogens of greatest concern were identified. Data on sporadic illnesses were also collected through a comprehensive literature review of case-control studies. We found 988 produce-related outbreaks (with known agents) and 45,723 cases in all regions and countries. The numbers of produce-related outbreaks per million person-years were approximately 0.76, 0.26, 0.25, 0.13, 0.12, and 0.05 in New Zealand, Australia, the United States, the Eur...

EFSA Journal, 2016

This session focused on emerging areas in biomedical research that are of key relevance to toxico... more This session focused on emerging areas in biomedical research that are of key relevance to toxicology and, therefore, may influence EFSA's work. The impact on the way risk assessment is conducted in the area of food may be through the identification of novel ways through which chemicals affect human health or through the provision of novel tools that could support regulatory assessment methods. Four topics were presented in this session. These covered areas such as epigenetics, proteomics, metabolomics and microbiomics, which are currently the subject of major research and development in systems biology and are beginning to impact on regulatory assessment approaches and methodologies. One emerging concept common to all four presentations was the importance of epigenetic changes, irrespective of whether development, neurodegeneration, ageing or cancer is considered. The epigenetic modulation of gene expression has profound effects on health and lifespan. Indeed, disruptions caused by environmental, dietary, pharmaceutical, microbial or lifestyle agents during pregnancy are key determinants responsible for major quantitative and qualitative changes in the epigenetic control of health and disease, either directly or indirectly through modulation of our gut microbiota. Although gut microbes provide energy to the body by helping in the breakdown of dietary components that are not degraded by our own digestive system, the intestinal microorganisms also produce important signalling molecules that regulate our systemic immune and metabolic responses and hence the microbiome can profoundly affect human physiology and health. A better knowledge of the different layers of information (genome, transcriptome, epigenome, proteome, metabolome and microbiome) will be paramount for our understanding of how environmental factors can impact on health and disease and will contribute to the regulatory assessment approaches and methodologies of the 21st century.

Veterinary Microbiology, 2000

evidence of PTB (previous diagnosis and/or clinical signs). This approach resulted in an estimate... more evidence of PTB (previous diagnosis and/or clinical signs). This approach resulted in an estimated true herd prevalence of M. paratuberculosis infection of 6%. The true herd prevalence for dairy, mixed and beef herds was, respectively, 10, 11 and 3%.

EFSA Supporting Publications, 2016

Manual for reporting on zoonoses and zoonotic agents, within the framework of Directive 2003/99/E... more Manual for reporting on zoonoses and zoonotic agents, within the framework of Directive 2003/99/EC, and on some other pathogenic microbiological agents for information derived from the year 2017

EFSA Supporting Publications, 2022

Eurosurveillance, 2011

We present a summary of the main findings of the latest report of the European Food Safety Author... more We present a summary of the main findings of the latest report of the European Food Safety Authority and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control on zoonoses, zoonotic agents and food-borne outbreaks in the European Union (EU), based on data from 2009. Zoonoses are prevalent and widely distributed across several countries in the EU. The most important highlight of this report was the continuous decrease of human salmonellosis since 2005, probably due to effective control programmes in livestock.

Although distribution of contaminated and possibly contaminated meat to food outlets and food-pro... more Although distribution of contaminated and possibly contaminated meat to food outlets and food-processing plants occurred, the official recall of implicated food has significantly reduced the risk of additional cases with cutaneous or gastro-intestinal anthrax. Currently, no cases other than the initial one have been reported and considering that most cases have onset of illness within seven days of exposure, it seems unlikely that new cases associated with this event will arise, taking into account the recall of contaminated products.

Eurosurveillance, 2021

Background Healthcare-associated foodborne outbreaks (HA-FBO) may have severe consequences, espec... more Background Healthcare-associated foodborne outbreaks (HA-FBO) may have severe consequences, especially in vulnerable groups. Aim The aim was to describe the current state of HA-FBO and propose public health recommendations for prevention. Methods We searched PubMed, the Outbreak Database (Charité, University Medicine Berlin), and hand-searched reference lists for HA-FBO with outbreak onset between 2001 and 2018 from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and HA-FBO (2012–2018) from the German surveillance system. Additionally, data from the European Food Safety Authority were analysed. Results The literature search retrieved 57 HA-FBO from 16 OECD countries, primarily in the US (n = 11), Germany (n = 11) and the United Kingdom (n = 9). In addition, 28 HA-FBO were retrieved from the German surveillance system. Based on the number of outbreaks, the top three pathogens associated with the overall 85 HA-FBO were Salmonella (n = 24), norovirus (n = 22) an...

Eurosurveillance, 2009

The European Food Safety Authority and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control hav... more The European Food Safety Authority and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control have just published their Community Zoonoses Report for 2007, analysing the occurrence of infectious diseases transmittable from animals to humans. Campylobacter infections still topped the list of zoonotic diseases in the European Union and the number of Salmonella infections in humans decreased for the fourth year in a row. Cases of listeriosis remained at the same level as in 2006, but due to the severity of the disease, more studies on transmission routes are warranted. The report highlights the importance of continued co-operation between veterinarians and public health specialists, both at the EU level and within Member States.

EFSA Supporting Publications, 2021

International Conference on the Epidemiology and Control of Biological, Chemical and Physical Hazards in Pigs and Pork, 2011

In order to reduce the incidence of human salmonellosis, European Union (EU) legislation foresees... more In order to reduce the incidence of human salmonellosis, European Union (EU) legislation foresees the setting of Salmonella reduction targets for food producing-animals including breeding pigs. To set such a target, an EU-wide baseline survey was conducted in 2008 to determine the prevalence and diversity of Salmonella in holdings with breeding pigs across Member States (MSs). A total of 1,609 breeding holdings and 3,508 production holdings from 24 EU MSs, plus Norway and Switzerland, were included in the survey. In each randomly selected holding, one fresh voided pooled faecal sample was collected from every 10 randomly chosen pens of breeding pigs. All samples were tested for presence of Salmonella and the isolates were serotyped. The EU prevalence of Salmonella-positive holdings with breeding pigs was 31.8%, all but one of the 24 participating MSs detected Salmonella in at least one holding. The EU prevalence of Salmonella-positive breeding holdings was 28.7%, varying from 0% to 64.0% among MSs. The EU prevalence of Salmonella-positive production holdings was 33.3%, while the MSs' prevalence varied from 0% to 55.7%. Salmonella Derby and Salmonella Typhimurium were the most frequently isolated serovars. Salmonella Typhimurium monophasic isolates 1,4,[5],12:i:-were also found in several MSs. Breeding pigs may be an important source of dissemination of Salmonella throughout the pig-production chain. In addition to supporting the setting of the EU Salmonella reduction targets and assessing the impact of Salmonella transmission originating from holdings with breeding pigs, these results may also be used in the future to evaluate the impact of control programmes.

EFSA Supporting Publications, 2020

This technical report of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) presents guidance to reporting... more This technical report of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) presents guidance to reporting European Union (EU) Member States and non-Member States in data transmission using extensible markup language (XML) data transfer covering the reporting of isolate-based quantitative antimicrobial resistance data, as well as reporting of prevalence data on zoonoses and food-borne contaminants, food-borne outbreak data, animal population data and disease status data. For data collection purposes, EFSA has created the Data Collection Framework (DCF) application. The present report provides data dictionaries to guide the reporting of information deriving from 2019 under the framework of Directive 2003/99/EC, Regulation (EU) 1375/2015, Regulation (EU) 854/2004 and Commission Implementing Decision 2013/652/EC. The objective is to explain in detail the individual data elements that are included in the EFSA data models to be used for XML data transmission through the DCF. In particular, the data elements to be reported are explained, including information about the data type, a reference to the list of allowed terms and any additional business rule or requirement that may apply.

EFSA Supporting Publications, 2020

Prevalence sample-based data should be transmitted from Member States to the European Food Safety... more Prevalence sample-based data should be transmitted from Member States to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) using the EFSA Standard Sample Description version 2 (SSD2) standard. To support reporting countries in data transmission using eXtensible Markup Language (XML) data transfer, specific guidance is given in this report covering the reporting of sample-based zoonoses and zoonotic agent data. This guidance is specifically aimed at guiding the reporting of information under the framework of Directive 2003/99/EC and of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/772. The objective is to explain in detail the individual data elements that are included in the EFSA (SSD2) data model to be used for the XML prevalence sample-based data transmission through the Data Collection Framework according to the protocol described in the EFSA Guidance on Data Exchange version 2 (GD2). In particular, data elements to be reported are explained, including information about the data type, a reference to the list of allowed terms and business rules or requirements that may apply.

EFSA Journal, 2019

The European Commission requested scientific technical assistance for the analysis of a European ... more The European Commission requested scientific technical assistance for the analysis of a European Union coordinated monitoring programme on the prevalence of norovirus in raw oysters. A total of 2,180 valid samples were taken from production areas and 2,129 from dispatch centres, taken over two consecutive years, ensuring the precision and the confidence desired in the estimation. The prevalence at production areas was estimated to be 34.5% (CI: 30.1-39.1%), while for batches from dispatch centres it was 10.8% (CI: 8.2-14.4%). The analyses show a strong seasonal effect, with higher contamination in the period November to April, as well as lower contamination for Class A areas than other classes. These associations were observed in both production areas and batches from dispatch centres. The results for both genogroups were above the respective limit of quantification (LOQ) in less than 10% of the samples taken. The simple substitution of not-detected and positive samples below the LOQ, by half of the limit of detection and half of the LOQ, respectively, produced estimates of the proportion of samples above or equal to 300 copies per gram (cpg) comparable to the statistical model. The current bacteriological microbiological criteria applicable to live bivalve molluscs might be complemented by a norovirus criterion. The analyses of the substitution approach show that selection of a potential limit within a microbiological criterion close to or lower than the LOQ (for example, less than 300 cpg, given the current test used in this survey) would be difficult to apply. This survey only assessed thresholds from the perspective of the analytical capability and not that of human health risk.

In February 1999, a poisoning episode broke out in several industrial poultry farms in Belgium. T... more In February 1999, a poisoning episode broke out in several industrial poultry farms in Belgium. The source of this contamination was found to be a stock of recycled fat that had been delivered by a firm to several compound feed producers, between 19 and 31 January 1999. A very good correlation was observed between dioxins (PCDFs and PCDDs) and PCBs. Consequently a contamination mainly by PCBs was hypothesized. This finding made it possible to detect contaminated animals and animal products by dosage of the PCBs, more specifically by the 7 congeners with numbers 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153 and 180. The advantages of the dosage of PCBs compared to dioxins were its rapid test protocol and the fact that a larger number of laboratories could participate. In the cattle sector, 409 herds (0,81 p. cent) were submitted to the risk of feed contamination. The methodology used to detect a PCBs/dioxins contamination in the Belgian cattle population that was not submitted to the risk, is presented. This population is directly or indirectly destined for human consumption. It consisted in the systematic sampling of all calve fattening stations and all lots of exported bovines, and in the random sampling of slaughter cattle. This methodology is compared to the approach described in directive 96/23/CE.La contamination par les polychlorobiphényls PCBs/dioxines de la chaîne alimentaire en Belgique s'est révélée en février 1999 dans des élevages industriels de volailles. Fin avril 1999, suite à l'enquête alimentaire, il s'est avéré que la source de contamination était un stock de graisses recyclées ayant été livrées par une firme à plusieurs fabricants d'aliments composés pour animaux, entre le 15 et le 31 janvier 1999. Une relation étroite a été mise en évidence entre les quantités de dioxines (PCDFs et PCDDs) et celles des PCBs, étayant ainsi l'hypothèse d'une contamination principale par les PCBs. Cette constatation a permis de baser le dépistage des animaux et des produits animaux susceptibles d'avoir été contaminés sur le dosage des 7 congénères PCBs numéros 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153 et 180. Ce dosage offrait l'avantage d'être rapide et réalisable par un plus grand nombre de laboratoires contrairement à celui des dioxines. En ce qui concerne le secteur des bovins, 409 troupeaux ont été soumis au risque alimentaire (0,81 p. cent du total des troupeaux belges). Ces troupeaux ont été placés sous saisie conservatoire et la levée de celle-ci a été effectuée soit sur base des résultats d'enquêtes épidémiologiques et alimentaires, soit sur base des résultats d'analyses PCBs/dioxines effectuées sur un échantillonnage représentatif des troupeaux bovins concernés ou soit sur base de la mise à mort et l’incinération de tous les bovins des 6 troupeaux pour lesquels des résultats d’analyses PCBs/dioxines étaient supérieurs aux normes fixées (PCBs : ≤ 100 ng/g MG dans le lait, ≤ 200 ng/g MG dans les graisses corporelles ; dioxines ≤ 5 pg TEQ/g MG) [Anonyme, 1999]. L'approche méthodologique qui a été utilisée pour détecter une contamination par les PCBs/dioxines au sein de la population des bovins belges non soumise au risque alimentaire est présentée. Cette approche est basée sur l'échantillonnage systématique de toutes les stations d'engraissement de veaux, l'échantillonnage systématique des lots de bovins destinés à l'exportation et l'échantillonnage aléatoire des bovins abattus en Belgique durant une semaine. Cette approche est comparée à celle préconisée par la directive 96/23/CE du Conseil.Peer reviewe

1 Europese Auto ri teit voor Voed sel vei lig heid (Eu ro pe an Food Sa fe ty Aut ho ri ty), Pa l... more 1 Europese Auto ri teit voor Voed sel vei lig heid (Eu ro pe an Food Sa fe ty Aut ho ri ty), Pa laz zo Ducale, Parco Ducale 3, I-43100 Parma, Italië 2 Coördinatiecentrum voor Diergeneeskundige Diagnostiek, Centrum voor Onderzoek in Diergeneeskunde en Agrochemie, Groeselenberg 99, B-1180 Brussel 3 Vakgroep Verloskunde, Voortplanting en Bedrijfsdiergeneeskunde, Afdeling voor Veterinaire Epidemiologie, Faculteit Diergeneeskunde, Universiteit Gent, Salisburylaan 133, B-9820 Merelbeke frank.boelaert@efsa.eu.int

Journal of food protection, 2018

Microbial contamination of fresh produce (fresh fruits and vegetables) poses serious public healt... more Microbial contamination of fresh produce (fresh fruits and vegetables) poses serious public health concerns worldwide. This study was conducted as a comprehensive analysis of biological hazards in the global fresh produce chain. Data about produce-related outbreaks and illness were collected from the annual reports and databases of foodborne outbreak surveillance systems in different regions and countries from 2010 to 2015. The global patterns of and regional differences in documented outbreaks and cases were analyzed, and produce commodities and pathogens of greatest concern were identified. Data on sporadic illnesses were also collected through a comprehensive literature review of case-control studies. We found 988 produce-related outbreaks (with known agents) and 45,723 cases in all regions and countries. The numbers of produce-related outbreaks per million person-years were approximately 0.76, 0.26, 0.25, 0.13, 0.12, and 0.05 in New Zealand, Australia, the United States, the Eur...

EFSA Journal, 2016

This session focused on emerging areas in biomedical research that are of key relevance to toxico... more This session focused on emerging areas in biomedical research that are of key relevance to toxicology and, therefore, may influence EFSA's work. The impact on the way risk assessment is conducted in the area of food may be through the identification of novel ways through which chemicals affect human health or through the provision of novel tools that could support regulatory assessment methods. Four topics were presented in this session. These covered areas such as epigenetics, proteomics, metabolomics and microbiomics, which are currently the subject of major research and development in systems biology and are beginning to impact on regulatory assessment approaches and methodologies. One emerging concept common to all four presentations was the importance of epigenetic changes, irrespective of whether development, neurodegeneration, ageing or cancer is considered. The epigenetic modulation of gene expression has profound effects on health and lifespan. Indeed, disruptions caused by environmental, dietary, pharmaceutical, microbial or lifestyle agents during pregnancy are key determinants responsible for major quantitative and qualitative changes in the epigenetic control of health and disease, either directly or indirectly through modulation of our gut microbiota. Although gut microbes provide energy to the body by helping in the breakdown of dietary components that are not degraded by our own digestive system, the intestinal microorganisms also produce important signalling molecules that regulate our systemic immune and metabolic responses and hence the microbiome can profoundly affect human physiology and health. A better knowledge of the different layers of information (genome, transcriptome, epigenome, proteome, metabolome and microbiome) will be paramount for our understanding of how environmental factors can impact on health and disease and will contribute to the regulatory assessment approaches and methodologies of the 21st century.

Veterinary Microbiology, 2000

evidence of PTB (previous diagnosis and/or clinical signs). This approach resulted in an estimate... more evidence of PTB (previous diagnosis and/or clinical signs). This approach resulted in an estimated true herd prevalence of M. paratuberculosis infection of 6%. The true herd prevalence for dairy, mixed and beef herds was, respectively, 10, 11 and 3%.

EFSA Supporting Publications, 2016

Manual for reporting on zoonoses and zoonotic agents, within the framework of Directive 2003/99/E... more Manual for reporting on zoonoses and zoonotic agents, within the framework of Directive 2003/99/EC, and on some other pathogenic microbiological agents for information derived from the year 2017

EFSA Supporting Publications, 2022

Eurosurveillance, 2011

We present a summary of the main findings of the latest report of the European Food Safety Author... more We present a summary of the main findings of the latest report of the European Food Safety Authority and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control on zoonoses, zoonotic agents and food-borne outbreaks in the European Union (EU), based on data from 2009. Zoonoses are prevalent and widely distributed across several countries in the EU. The most important highlight of this report was the continuous decrease of human salmonellosis since 2005, probably due to effective control programmes in livestock.

Although distribution of contaminated and possibly contaminated meat to food outlets and food-pro... more Although distribution of contaminated and possibly contaminated meat to food outlets and food-processing plants occurred, the official recall of implicated food has significantly reduced the risk of additional cases with cutaneous or gastro-intestinal anthrax. Currently, no cases other than the initial one have been reported and considering that most cases have onset of illness within seven days of exposure, it seems unlikely that new cases associated with this event will arise, taking into account the recall of contaminated products.

Eurosurveillance, 2021

Background Healthcare-associated foodborne outbreaks (HA-FBO) may have severe consequences, espec... more Background Healthcare-associated foodborne outbreaks (HA-FBO) may have severe consequences, especially in vulnerable groups. Aim The aim was to describe the current state of HA-FBO and propose public health recommendations for prevention. Methods We searched PubMed, the Outbreak Database (Charité, University Medicine Berlin), and hand-searched reference lists for HA-FBO with outbreak onset between 2001 and 2018 from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and HA-FBO (2012–2018) from the German surveillance system. Additionally, data from the European Food Safety Authority were analysed. Results The literature search retrieved 57 HA-FBO from 16 OECD countries, primarily in the US (n = 11), Germany (n = 11) and the United Kingdom (n = 9). In addition, 28 HA-FBO were retrieved from the German surveillance system. Based on the number of outbreaks, the top three pathogens associated with the overall 85 HA-FBO were Salmonella (n = 24), norovirus (n = 22) an...

Eurosurveillance, 2009

The European Food Safety Authority and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control hav... more The European Food Safety Authority and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control have just published their Community Zoonoses Report for 2007, analysing the occurrence of infectious diseases transmittable from animals to humans. Campylobacter infections still topped the list of zoonotic diseases in the European Union and the number of Salmonella infections in humans decreased for the fourth year in a row. Cases of listeriosis remained at the same level as in 2006, but due to the severity of the disease, more studies on transmission routes are warranted. The report highlights the importance of continued co-operation between veterinarians and public health specialists, both at the EU level and within Member States.

EFSA Supporting Publications, 2021

International Conference on the Epidemiology and Control of Biological, Chemical and Physical Hazards in Pigs and Pork, 2011

In order to reduce the incidence of human salmonellosis, European Union (EU) legislation foresees... more In order to reduce the incidence of human salmonellosis, European Union (EU) legislation foresees the setting of Salmonella reduction targets for food producing-animals including breeding pigs. To set such a target, an EU-wide baseline survey was conducted in 2008 to determine the prevalence and diversity of Salmonella in holdings with breeding pigs across Member States (MSs). A total of 1,609 breeding holdings and 3,508 production holdings from 24 EU MSs, plus Norway and Switzerland, were included in the survey. In each randomly selected holding, one fresh voided pooled faecal sample was collected from every 10 randomly chosen pens of breeding pigs. All samples were tested for presence of Salmonella and the isolates were serotyped. The EU prevalence of Salmonella-positive holdings with breeding pigs was 31.8%, all but one of the 24 participating MSs detected Salmonella in at least one holding. The EU prevalence of Salmonella-positive breeding holdings was 28.7%, varying from 0% to 64.0% among MSs. The EU prevalence of Salmonella-positive production holdings was 33.3%, while the MSs' prevalence varied from 0% to 55.7%. Salmonella Derby and Salmonella Typhimurium were the most frequently isolated serovars. Salmonella Typhimurium monophasic isolates 1,4,[5],12:i:-were also found in several MSs. Breeding pigs may be an important source of dissemination of Salmonella throughout the pig-production chain. In addition to supporting the setting of the EU Salmonella reduction targets and assessing the impact of Salmonella transmission originating from holdings with breeding pigs, these results may also be used in the future to evaluate the impact of control programmes.

EFSA Supporting Publications, 2020

This technical report of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) presents guidance to reporting... more This technical report of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) presents guidance to reporting European Union (EU) Member States and non-Member States in data transmission using extensible markup language (XML) data transfer covering the reporting of isolate-based quantitative antimicrobial resistance data, as well as reporting of prevalence data on zoonoses and food-borne contaminants, food-borne outbreak data, animal population data and disease status data. For data collection purposes, EFSA has created the Data Collection Framework (DCF) application. The present report provides data dictionaries to guide the reporting of information deriving from 2019 under the framework of Directive 2003/99/EC, Regulation (EU) 1375/2015, Regulation (EU) 854/2004 and Commission Implementing Decision 2013/652/EC. The objective is to explain in detail the individual data elements that are included in the EFSA data models to be used for XML data transmission through the DCF. In particular, the data elements to be reported are explained, including information about the data type, a reference to the list of allowed terms and any additional business rule or requirement that may apply.

EFSA Supporting Publications, 2020

Prevalence sample-based data should be transmitted from Member States to the European Food Safety... more Prevalence sample-based data should be transmitted from Member States to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) using the EFSA Standard Sample Description version 2 (SSD2) standard. To support reporting countries in data transmission using eXtensible Markup Language (XML) data transfer, specific guidance is given in this report covering the reporting of sample-based zoonoses and zoonotic agent data. This guidance is specifically aimed at guiding the reporting of information under the framework of Directive 2003/99/EC and of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/772. The objective is to explain in detail the individual data elements that are included in the EFSA (SSD2) data model to be used for the XML prevalence sample-based data transmission through the Data Collection Framework according to the protocol described in the EFSA Guidance on Data Exchange version 2 (GD2). In particular, data elements to be reported are explained, including information about the data type, a reference to the list of allowed terms and business rules or requirements that may apply.

EFSA Journal, 2019

The European Commission requested scientific technical assistance for the analysis of a European ... more The European Commission requested scientific technical assistance for the analysis of a European Union coordinated monitoring programme on the prevalence of norovirus in raw oysters. A total of 2,180 valid samples were taken from production areas and 2,129 from dispatch centres, taken over two consecutive years, ensuring the precision and the confidence desired in the estimation. The prevalence at production areas was estimated to be 34.5% (CI: 30.1-39.1%), while for batches from dispatch centres it was 10.8% (CI: 8.2-14.4%). The analyses show a strong seasonal effect, with higher contamination in the period November to April, as well as lower contamination for Class A areas than other classes. These associations were observed in both production areas and batches from dispatch centres. The results for both genogroups were above the respective limit of quantification (LOQ) in less than 10% of the samples taken. The simple substitution of not-detected and positive samples below the LOQ, by half of the limit of detection and half of the LOQ, respectively, produced estimates of the proportion of samples above or equal to 300 copies per gram (cpg) comparable to the statistical model. The current bacteriological microbiological criteria applicable to live bivalve molluscs might be complemented by a norovirus criterion. The analyses of the substitution approach show that selection of a potential limit within a microbiological criterion close to or lower than the LOQ (for example, less than 300 cpg, given the current test used in this survey) would be difficult to apply. This survey only assessed thresholds from the perspective of the analytical capability and not that of human health risk.