EU Salmonella Strathcona Outbreak

The European Commission has issued a mandate sent to EFSA and ECDE for a rapid outbreak assessment regarding multi-country outbreak of Salmonella Strathcona infections presumably linked to consumption of tomatoes of Italian (Sicilian) origin.

Comments provided by the European Commission:

• The Commission services observed illnesses caused by Salmonella Strathcona every year since 2018, each year starting in the month of July and continuing for a while.
• Countries concerned: DE, AT, DK and Italy (northern part).
• Based on conducted interviews it was concluded that the outbreak is linked to Sicilian tomatoes.
• Italian Authorities carried out some tests and commented to the European Commission that all analysis came back negative.
• European Commission reached out to the European reference Lab. requesting to comment on Italian findings and analytical methodology used in Italy.
• Assumption that illnesses are linked to Sicilian tomatoes is made based on interviews of sick people.
• Although it is claimed that tomatoes are originating from Sicily, there are no reported cases of illnesses in Sicily. Instead, all illnesses linked to Italy are in the north of Italy. Italian Authorities claimed that most of Sicilian tomatoes are distributed locally.
• EFSA will publish its findings report on 27 October.
• The European Commission would like to remind to producers to strengthen good hygiene and production practices and verify that water used for irrigation is of suitable quality.