WHO’s foodborne infection data update is highlight of 2025

Revised foodborne illness figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) are the main thing to watch out for in 2025.

There are also new regulatory requirements around Campylobacter in Europe and Singapore is working on a Food Safety and Security Bill.

At the bottom of this article is a selection of events, outside the United States and Canada, in date order to help fill out your calendar.

WHO’s updated foodborne disease estimates
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (FERG) will reveal updated foodborne infection data for 2000 to 2021 at national, regional, and global level using a time series analysis.

Figures published in 2015 revealed that 31 hazards caused 600 million illnesses and 420,000 deaths in 2010. New estimates are expected in late 2025 and will provide data on Trypanosoma cruzi, aflatoxin M1, inorganic arsenic, cadmium, lead, methylmercury, cyclospora, rotavirus, and Enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC).

FERG has advised WHO to look again at the economic impact of foodborne hazards. Figures released by the World Bank in 2019 said unsafe food costs low- and middle-income economies about $110 billion in lost productivity and medical expenses each year. 

WHO is also working on an investment case for foodborne disease surveillance with help from the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

European Campylobacter rule change
In 2018, EU regulation introduced a process hygiene criterion and testing requirements on neck skin samples of chilled chicken carcasses for Campylobacter. It applies to a set of 50 pooled samples from 10 consecutive sampling sessions.

As of Jan.1 2025, a maximum of 10 samples out of 50 should exceed 1,000 colony forming unis per gram (CFU/g) Campylobacter. The limit, from 2020, had been 15 of 50 samples. If levels are above the new limit, action should be taken, such as improvements in slaughter hygiene, a review of process controls, of animals’ origin and of biosecurity measures in the farms of origin.

The latest EU data shows 15 member states reported 6,686 test results from official controls, with 16 percent of Campylobacter-positive samples exceeding the limit of 1,000 CFU/g. Twenty countries and Northern Ireland reported 61,591 results from the monitoring of businesses, with 15.8 percent of positive samples above 1,000 CFU/g. Eleven member states shared results from both samplers, showing that the number exceeding the limit was significantly higher in official samples than in own-checks.

World Food Safety Day
On June 7, World Food Safety Day, promoted by WHO and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), will be celebrated for the seventh time. 2025 also marks a decade since food safety was the theme of World Health Day.

WHO also created the Alliance for Food Safety in 2024 and the group will meet again sometime this year in Oman.

Happy Birthday to government agencies
Food Standards Scotland (FSS) will hit 10 years of existence in 2025. It was established in April 2015 as the new public sector food body for Scotland. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) hits the 25-year mark, as the authority was created in 2000 and the FSA’s National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) will mark 10 years of existence.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the public health agency of the European Union, celebrates 20 years as it started operating in 2005. The Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) in Belgium is 25 after being founded in 2000.

Tiger Brands situation
It wasn’t a jump but there has been a step forward in the South African Listeria outbreak involving Tiger Brands. In late 2024, the company said attorneys have engaged with plaintiff attorneys to try and agree on relief to qualifying individuals who have urgent medical needs. There may well be more developments in the class action this year.

The listeriosis outbreak began in 2017 and was officially declared over in September 2018, with 1,065 confirmed cases and at least 218 deaths. People contracted Listeria monocytogenes infections after eating a contaminated ready-to-eat meat product called polony, made at a factory in Polokwane by Enterprise Foods. At the time, Enterprise Foods was owned by Tiger Brands, but the business was sold in 2020.

2025 events:

Proactive Food Safety Jan. 22 in Manchester, England

Analysis 4 Authenticity Feb. 11 to 12 Online

BRC Connect Europe Feb. 27 to 28 in Milan

Next steps for food regulation and standards in the UK March 6 Online

GFSI Conference March 31 to April 3 in Dublin, Ireland

Foodborne Bacterial Toxins International Symposium April 2 to 4 in Paris

IAFP EU Symposium May 6 to 8 in Madrid

Proactive Food Safety June 4 in London

EU Food Sure Summit June 16 to 17 in Madrid

International Symposium on Salmonella and Salmonellosis June 23 to 25 in Saint-Malo

GHI World Congress June 25 to 27 in Amsterdam

CIEH Food Safety Conference July 9 to 10 Online

International Fresh Produce Safety Symposium July 29 to 30 in Sydney

Rapid Methods Europe Oct. 27 to 29 in Amsterdam

China International Food Safety and Quality Conference Nov. 5 to 6 in Beijing

ECDC’s ESCAIDE Nov. 19 to 21 in Poland

International Heads of Food Agencies (IHFAF) 5^th meeting in Santiago, Chile

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Source: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2025/01/whos-foodborne-infection-data-update-is-highlight-of-2025/