Marler Clark LLP, PS (LexBlog Germany)

German officials believe they have solved a seven-year Listeria outbreak that included the death of one man. Using next generation sequencing (NGS) methods, the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL) helped identify a likely connection between Listeria infections in Lower Bavaria and in the district of Altötting since 2015 and a food...

More than 20 Listeria outbreaks have been linked to salmon products in Germany in the space of a decade, according to a study. Researchers identified 22 listeriosis outbreaks between 2010 and 2021 that were likely associated with eating smoked and graved salmon products. Many of them also affected people in other countries. Eight outbreaks include cases...

A German survey has looked at what food issues the population is concerned about. Half of the respondents think that food bought in Germany is safe and 44 percent think that food safety will continue to increase, said Andreas Hensel, BfR president. Only 12 percent said food was not safe and 18 percent said food...

A number of people have fallen sick in Germany and the Netherlands and one has died after drinking champagne contaminated with ecstasy. In mid-February, a 52-year-old man died in the German town of Weiden and seven other people needed hospital treatment. Eight people, aged 33 to 52, had all drunk from a bottle of champagne...

Eating meat fondues and raclette grill meals contributes to the annual seasonal peak of Campylobacter cases in Germany, according to a study. During such meals, raw meat is typically handled directly at the table and touched with bare hands and often includes chicken meat, which can be contaminated with Campylobacter. Germany recorded 46,500 cases in 2020...

Findings of E. coli in lamb and flour has triggered a warning from German authorities. Basic rules of kitchen hygiene, such as using different cutting boards for raw meat and vegetables, should be followed. Proper cooking is one of the best ways to avoid food poisoning from E. coli. As part of zoonosis monitoring in...

The majority of people think food is safe in Germany and that safety is getting better, according to a survey. More than half of survey respondents rated food as safe or very safe. This is more than for other product categories such as children’s toys, body care products or clothing. More than 40 percent said...

A counterfeit version of Nestlé branded coffee has been found on sale in Germany and may contain foreign objects. Nestlé Deutschland reported the product was packaged in a glass jar that looked like an old version of Nescafé Gold. There are also concerns it may contain broken glass and plastic. The food firm said it...

The number of foodborne infections in Germany declined in 2020 with the coronavirus pandemic likely affecting the figures, according to a report. The Infectious Disease Epidemiology Annual Report provides a summary and assessment of notifications of diseases reported to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). Another report has already shown the drop in reported foodborne outbreaks...

The number of foodborne outbreaks reported in Germany halved in 2020, according to a report, but did include a large Salmonella outbreak linked to imported dried coconut. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) said a factor in the decline was the coronavirus pandemic. In 2020, the...

A survey in Germany has found the majority of consumers want more transparency on the results of food inspections. The poll, on behalf of the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (VZBV), revealed 88 percent of those surveyed would support a food monitoring system that used smiley faces or other methods like traffic light colors. It...

German experts have presented results so far from increased surveillance of Campylobacter infections. In Germany, around 60,000 cases are reported every year. Mainly contaminated food of animal origin are identified or suspected as sources of infection. Intensified molecular surveillance of Campylobacter from human infections at the National Reference Center (NRZ) for Salmonella and other...

Listeriosis incidence in Germany is higher than all neighboring countries except Denmark, according to a study. Researchers analyzed mandatory notification data on invasive listeriosis cases in Germany from 2010 to 2019 to describe time trends, case-fatality rates, demographic distribution, clinical and diagnostic characteristics, and geographic trends. In total, 5,576 listeriosis cases were...

The International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) has opened a call for proposals to its European symposium next year. The IAFP European Symposium organizing committee is inviting people to submit a proposal for presentation during the meeting. Since 2005, IAFP’s European symposium has provided a forum for the exchange of ideas with people from across...

A study has provided more detail on a multi-year outbreak of Listeria linked to meat products from one company in Germany. The United States was one of 20 countries that received the meat. The aim of the work was to verify and describe a cluster of listeriosis patients and identify factors leading to the outbreak. The...

Germany recorded more than 400 foodborne outbreaks in 2019 with almost 2,000 illnesses and five deaths, according to recently released statistics. In 2019, there were 402 foodborne disease outbreaks  reported to the Robert Koch-Institut (RKI) or the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL). At least 1,970 illnesses, 385 hospitalizations and five deaths were...

Three European countries have recorded Listeria infections with fish being investigated as the source. Germany has reported 30 infections and, since November, two people in Austria and one person in Denmark has contracted the same strain of listeriosis. In Germany, patients were notified and transmitted to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) from the end of...

More than 20 E. coli infections are being investigated in a German municipality. Four day care centers in the Lützow-Lübstorf district are affected by the outbreak of E. coli O26. Lützow-Lübstorf is in Nordwestmecklenburg, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) are often referred to as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). Authorities initially reported 18 patients..

Coronavirus is the main issue concerning Germans, according to a survey by the country’s risk assessment agency. The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR)’s Consumer Monitor found more than a quarter of the public perceive the virus as the greatest health risk. Only 5 percent mentioned unhealthy or contaminated food. A third of respondents...

The resurgence of a hepatitis A outbreak linked to strawberries underlines the importance of complete traceback of implicated products during outbreaks, according to researchers. Following outbreaks linked to frozen strawberries in Sweden and Austria in 2018, 65 cases of the same hepatitis A virus (HAV) strain were detected in Germany between October 2018 and January...

Authorities in Germany, Spain, Italy and Belgium have provided more details of their roles in an international operation focused on potentially dangerous food and beverages. Operation Opson IX, coordinated by Europol and Interpol, ran from December 2019 to June 2020.  More than $40 million worth of food and drink was seized including 12,000 tons of...

The Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) in Germany has called on manufacturers and importers to increase checks to ensure the safety of spices. Industry is responsible for the quality and compliance of spices with maximum residue levels. The agency told those involved in the sector, particularly paprika and chili powder players,...

The probability of coronavirus being transmitted via food is perceived by the public as being low, according to a survey in Germany. Two thirds said the probability of being infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) via food was low. More than one in five rated the chance as medium and 12 percent said it was...

Consumer knowledge in Germany of Toxoplasma was better than that of Campylobacter, according to a recent report on a study. Researchers surveyed 1,008 consumers in August 2017 in Germany via an online panel on Campylobacter, Salmonella and Toxoplasma and transmissibility via meat. The questionnaire had 43 questions in five sections. Consumers were most informed about...

The former managing director of an egg company in Germany linked to a multi-country Salmonella outbreak in 2014 has been given a suspended prison sentence of one year and nine months. Stefan Pohlmann was sentenced at a court in the city of Regensburg this past week. The defendant was found guilty of commercial fraud in...

Brucellosis has markedly increased in recent years in Germany, according to a study. Experts from the Robert Koch Institute found unpasteurized milk products were the top identified source of infection and most cases involved foreign travel. Researchers analyzed demographic, clinical, laboratory and exposure information of symptomatic lab-confirmed brucellosis cases reported from 2006 to 2018....

Researchers have analyzed what happens when a species of Yersinia switches into attack mode. Yersinia pseudotuberculosis is transmitted via contaminated food. When it arrives in the intestine of the warm-blooded host, it secretes the cytotoxic necrotizing factor (CnfY) toxin, which triggers acute inflammatory reactions and increases the effect of other pathogenic substances. Researchers at Ruhr-Un

The deadline for applications to the 2020 IAFP European Symposium Student Travel Scholarship is coming up next week. IAFP is offering the scholarship to support the travel of two students to attend the IAFP European Symposium on Food Safety in Munich, Germany, 7 to 9 April, 2020. The International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) recognizes students are the...

Authorities in Germany have admitted mistakes were made as part of investigations into a Listeria outbreak that affected 37 people beginning in 2014. One infection was recorded in 2014, three in 2016 and four in 2017 but the outbreak was only identified in 2018 by whole genome sequencing when there was an increase with 21...

IAFP European Symposium call for abstracts The International Association for Food Protection is currently accepting abstracts for two conferences. The first is for IAFP’s European Symposium on Food Safety Apr. 7-9, 2020 in Munich, Germany. The deadline for abstract submissions is Jan. 14, 2020. Abstracts are required to report on results of new studies dealing...