A recently released report covering food safety in the supply chain has revealed there were 60 outbreaks that affected 1,500 people in the United Kingdom in 2023, which is up from the year before.
The United Kingdom Food Security Report includes data available from 2021 to 2024. There are five themes, including one on food safety and consumer confidence.
Under this section are trends in consumer confidence, food safety incident alerts, foodborne disease outbreaks, food crime, and food business compliance with hygiene regulations.
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, an average of 2,133 food safety incidents were recorded annually between 2019/20 and 2023/24, with the range varying from 2,478 in 2019/20 to 1,837 in 2023/24. In Scotland, an average of 115 incidents were recorded between 2019/20 and 2023/24, ranging from 94 in 2020/21 to 139 in 2022/23.
2023 outbreak data
A quarter of all incidents over the past three years involved microorganisms that have the potential to cause illness, such as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, Listeria and Salmonella. Data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Public Health Wales, Public Health Scotland, and Public Health Agency Northern Ireland reporting systems shows the number of laboratory-confirmed infections were 71,710 for Campylobacter, 10,257 for Salmonella, 762 for E. coli O157, and 203 for Listeria in 2023.
Reports of other STEC serogroups, such as STEC O26 and O145, have been increasing over the past decade. While some of the increase is due to lab testing methods, officials believe there has also been a genuine rise in cases.
In 2023, 60 outbreaks were reported in the UK with 16 due to viruses and 14 because of STEC and other diarrhoeagenic E. coli (DEC). Salmonella and Listeria caused eight each. Four were due to Campylobacter, three to Clostridium perfringens while Shigella caused two and Cryptosporidium one. There were 1,500 sick people associated with foodborne outbreaks in 2023 and 11 percent were hospitalized. More than 520 cases each were due to Salmonella and viruses, such as norovirus. In 2022, there were 40 outbreaks with 1,468 cases.
Eight outbreaks in 2023 were traced to crustaceans, shellfish or mollusks and six to beef or bovine meat products. Five each were linked to poultry meat products and composite or mixed foods and four each to fruits and vegetables and dairy.
There were several large Salmonella outbreaks between 2019 and 2023, with more than 1,000 illnesses linked to poultry meat products from Poland. Another large incident was an outbreak linked to a pork snack product sold by Tayto Group across the UK.
FSA and FSS investigated five incidents involving Vibrio in shellfish products during 2022 and 2023; while four related to imported products, one was the first reported incident in UK waters since records began.
Food crime and consumer views
The report also covers the main issues dealt with by the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) and Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit (SFCIU) in 2023 and 2024. They included dangerous non-food sold as food and alleged crime in the meat and meat products sector. Operations into the illegal smokies trade was a key driver of signals in the meat products category. A smokie is a product that involves blow-torching sheep or goat carcasses with the skin left on.
FSA and FSS issued 136 food alerts in 2023/24 compared with 154 alerts in 2022/23. This reduction was primarily driven by the fall in allergy alerts.
Based on FSA survey results, in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, confidence in food being safe to eat remained stable between July 2020 and July 2023. Data from April to July 2023 showed that 88 percent of people were confident that the food they buy is safe.
Survey results from October 2022 to January 2023 show 40 percent reported washing raw chicken at least occasionally, against the FSA’s recommendation. Although 65 percent recognized a use-by date as the information which shows that food is no longer safe to consume, people reported eating food past this date. Bagged salad and cheese were the products respondents were most likely to eat at any point after the use-by date.
According to the report, local authority food officer shortages are affecting the frequency of business inspections and associated enforcement action. This could affect consumers’ access to safe food, and their trust in the effective regulation of the food system.
Trends show the number of food samples taken by local authorities has declined over the past 10 years, in part due to a reduction seen in local authority resourcing as well as overall financial constraints.
Of businesses inspected, analysis indicates an upward trend in food hygiene compliance. However, there is still a backlog in the number of outlets awaiting inspection.
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