EU finds E.coli controls vary between countries
operation of controls over verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli
(VTEC) has revealed inconsistent monitoring between the six
countries visited.
Yesterday's report by the EU Food and Veterinary Office on the operation of controls over verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) has revealed inconsistent monitoring between the six countries visited.
Infections caused by VTEC have, over the past twenty years, been a cause of severe food poisoning cases, including some high profile outbreaks that have caused fatalities. A wide variety of foodstuffs have been implicated, including foods of animal origin, fruits and raw salads/peeled vegetables.
The report shows that the national authorities in the countries visited have made considerable efforts to respond to the challenges posed by VTEC contamination. But the approach followed in monitoring and controlling outbreaks in both the animal and human populations varies considerably from country to country. As with other food-borne pathogens, the real prevalence of VTEC in humans appears to be generally under-estimated.
The inspection programme was carried out in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Portugal and Sweden to review the epidemiology of VTEC infections and the monitoring and control systems in place in the red meat and milk sector. The countries were selected to obtain an overview of the different control systems and food practices in the EU.
The objective was notably to identify'best practices' in VTEC control and to collect information on the occurrence of VTEC infections in the population as a basis for consumer information and further legislative and other actions at EU level.
The Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, David Byrne, said, "The report identifies interesting examples of good practices, and gives us useful ideas for future action to improve controls at European level…national authorities are of course well-advised to look at the best practices identified and to start applying them wherever possible."
The FVO report urges the wider adoption of "best practices" implemented by some Member States, as well as those outlined in last year's report of the competent Scientific Committee on Food-Borne Zoonoses. The FVO notably points to the need for co-ordinated research into the prevalence of VTEC at the different stages of the food production chain.
The Office recommends joint action by the European Commission and the Member States to develop guidelines for a more consistent approach to the detection, notification, prevention, control and investigation of VTEC outbreaks in the animal and human populations.
