Managing the “Salmonella” risk

Phytocontrol laboratory has developed several COFRAC-accredited methods for the qualitative analysis of Salmonella on a wide range of products.

In Europe, Salmonella spp is the second most frequently reported zoonotic infection in humans and remains the most common cause of foodborne outbreaks.

Transmission to humans occurs mainly through the consumption of contaminated raw or undercooked food. The proportion of foodborne transmission is estimated at 95% for non-typhoidal Salmonella and 80% for typhoidal Salmonella.

The foods most at risk are eggs and egg products that are raw or have undergone insufficient heat treatment, meat (beef, pork and poultry), plants, particularly sprouted seeds due to the use of contaminated fertilisers or water or poor harvesting and preparation practices, and shellfish.

Regulations on Salmonella spp

Salmonella are pathogenic germs subject to safety criteria in foodstuffs intended for human consumption under Regulation 2073/2005.
In France, the FCD (Fédération du Commerce et de la Distribution) has introduced additional criteria for matrices not listed in the European regulation.
Regulation 142/2011 also sets criteria to be complied with for foodstuffs intended for animal feed.
Salmonella is identified as a hazard and is checked upon import of certain matrices from third countries, particularly sesame seeds from India.
The list of monitored matrices is set out in Annex I of Regulation 2019/1793.

According to the latest 2019 annual RASFF report:

• 575 notifications were reported in human food regarding pathogenic microorganisms, mainly in products of animal origin. Salmonella is the most frequently reported pathogen (371 notifications).
• 166 notifications were reported in animal feed in various types of raw materials, but also in pet food.

The Phytocontrol laboratory solution

The laboratory is able to test for Salmonella using the reference method NF EN ISO 6579-1, the rapid method BRD 07/11-12/05 or the real-time PCR molecular method BRD 07/06-07/04.

These methods are developed under COFRAC accreditation and can be used to test for the germ in products intended for human or animal consumption, as well as environmental samples from the food industry (such as surface samples).

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