What are the geographic and socioeconomic trends in foodborne illness in Scotland, and what are the factors that make people more vulnerable to the risks of food poisoning?
Background
Foodborne illness reduction continues to be a key strategic priority for FSS. It has been estimated that with 2.4 million individual illnesses and more than 16,000 hospitalisations per year, the annual burden on the UK economy is £9.1 billion. The most important pathogens which are associated with foodborne illness are campylobacter, salmonella, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), listeria, and norovirus which can contaminate food at any point in the production chain from farmed animals, the environment, or contact with infected humans. The contamination of food with pathogens which are resistant to antimicrobials is a further concern. Reducing the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a priority for the UK, and government has published a 5-year AMR National Action Plan (NAP) 2024-29 which sets out actions to address this. FSS contributes to work led by Scottish Government to implement these actions in Scotland and monitor AMR in humans, animals, food and the environment. FSS’s strategy for reducing foodborne illness sets out our framework for managing the risks of pathogens in the food chain. The strategy is based on a ‘One Health’ approach; recognising the need to understand pathogen risks in Scotland in the context of veterinary, environment, water and foodborne transmission, which relies on strong partnership working between all relevant stakeholders. Food hypersensitivity is another form of foodborne illness with potentially serious impacts on the health and well-being of those affected. It is estimated that, in the UK, there are up to 2.4 million adults living with a diagnosed food allergy, and 600,000 people diagnosed with Coeliac Disease with many more living with sensitivities and intolerances to certain foods.
This research theme aims to generate evidence that will improve our understanding of the profile of foodborne illness and food hypersensitivity in Scotland in terms of incidence, any demographic, geographical and socioeconomic trends, and the main causes of illness.
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Related UKRI funded projects
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