INFOSAN Quarterly Summary, 2020 Number 1

Food security incidents

During the first quarter of 2020, the INFOSAN Secretariat was involved in 38 food security cases involving 109 WHO Member States and 9 WHO Member States’ territories. There were 25 incidents involving biohazard (salmonella spp. [8]. Listeria monocytogenes [5], Norovirus [3] Production of Shiga-toxins Escherichia coli [2]. Clostridium botulinum [2] Bacillus cereus [2]. Cronobacter spp. [1]. Shigella sonnei [1], unspecified biohazard [1]), 6 which include undeclared allergen (milk [3], peanuts (1), egg [1], gluten [1]), 5 involving physical danger (unspecified foreign substance) [2], glass [1], metal [1], plastic [1]), one involving a chemical / toxin (histamine) hazard and one associated with an unspecified hazard.

The categories of foods most commonly involved in 38 incidents during the first quarter of 2020 included fish and other seafood (8), herbs and spices (4), legumes and legumes (4), milk and dairy products (3), nuts and oilseeds (3), snacks, desserts and other foods (3), cereals and cereal-based products (2), composite foods (2), fruits and fruit products (2), meat and meat products (2), vegetables and vegetable products (2), special-purpose food products (1), and food for infants and young children (1). In one incident, he was an unknown source of food.

During such international food safety cases, the INFOSAN Secretariat relies on prompt action by the national INFOSAN contact points to respond to requests for information. The rapid exchange of information through INFOSAN enables members to implement appropriate risk management measures to prevent disease in their countries.

Geographic range

These incidents involved Member States from all WHO regions: Europe (39), followed by America (24), Africa (24), Western Pacific (18), Eastern Mediterranean (8) and Southeast Asia (6).

Recall in several countries frozen rolls of spring rolls from Singapore due to the presence of undeclared allergen

In February 2020, the INFOSAN Secretariat notified the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) and INFOSAN counterparts in Australia about the recall in Australia and several European countries of frozen leaf rolls for the detection of undeclared allergen (milk) imported from Singapore. In cooperation with RASFF, The INFOSAN Secretariat has been informed that frozen frozen spring leaves have been internationally distributed in 46 Member States from four WHO regions and four areas in Europe and the Western Pacific. Furthermore, in cooperation with the INFOSAN Emergency Contact Point (ECP) in Singapore, the INFOSAN Secretariat also obtained details on the further distribution of implicit products to additional WHO Member States from all WHO regions, taking the total number of Member States involved to 65. It is also reported that some of the products have been redistributed by some countries to Europe, America and Africa. Consequently, several countries recalled frozen products to be restarted and investigated the problem to identify diseases associated with the consumption of frozen spring rolls. No diseases have been reported at the INFOSAN Secretariat.

This incident highlighted undeclared allergens as an important category of hazards that can result in a major international response to implementing risk management and disease prevention measures. In addition, it is an example of effective communication between INFOSAN members and the Secretariat.

An outbreak of liisteriosis in the United States associated with enoki mushrooms imported from the Republic of Korea

In March 2020, the INFOSAN Secretariat became aware by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of a listeriosis epidemic in the US related to the consumption of enoki fungi imported from the Republic of Korea. There were a total of 36 cases, including 4 deaths reported in the US, next investigations in Canada, conducted in conjunction with the US, the INFOSAN Secretariat was notified of 6 Listeriosis cases in 2017-2019 in Canada, potentially related to whole genome (WGS) sequencing with the current outbreak in the US. In addition, in 2019, authorities in Canada collected food isolates (from enoki mushrooms from the Republic of Korea) genetically linked to a cluster of cases. WGS data related to food cases and isolates have been shared on the INFOSAN community website to help identify cases in other countries.

The INFOSAN Secretariat has hired INFOSAN’s Emergency Contact Point (ECP) in the Republic of Korea to seek details on any further international distribution of implicated enoki fungi. Investigations are ongoing.

News and activities

Food and the COVID-19 epidemic

On 31 December 2019, WHO was alerted to several cases of pneumonia of unknown origin in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. The previously unknown coronavirus was named SARS-CoV-2 and is the cause Covide-19 disease.

The World Health Organization for Epidemic and Epidemic (EPI-WIN) aims to share sector-specific information, including food and agriculture. The INFOSAN Secretariat has recently drawn up guidelines for food companies regarding COVID-19 and the food safety now available on the line, The guidelines were also disseminated through EPI-WIN and presented during two webinars.

Call for applicants: INFOSAN Train-the-Trainer Workshop

In February, the INFOSAN Secretariat issued an invitation to apply for the INFOSAN Train-the-Trainer workshop. With the continued growth of the network and the increasing need for training that entails, the INFOSAN Secretariat in collaboration with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced this workshop aimed at increasing the human resources available to train INFOSAN members topic about INFOSAN, online or in person. As a result, understanding of the roles and responsibilities of INFOSAN members is expected to improve, resulting in greater participation that will increase speed and efficiency during global food safety emergencies. The INFOSAN Secretariat, together with the CFIA, looks forward to hosting this important workshop this year.

Developing a new INFOSAN community website

The INFOSAN Community Website (ICW) remains an effective tool for disseminating information during food safety emergencies. Over the past year, through the INFOSAN Members Survey, the Secretariat has gained a better understanding of how members use ICW and how they can improve it to improve information sharing. The information gathered, along with the experience of the members of the Secretariat, provided a number of innovative ideas as guidance for the development of the new ICW. The Secretariat is pleased to announce that the competitive process of selecting a supplier to develop the new INFOSAN community website has been completed and work is underway to create a new ICW.

Voice of an active network member