Relationships between the Mikrobiological Food Safety and the Trends in Foodborne Diseases in Hungary

Although the food-control authorities work hard for ensuring food safety, the number of foodborne diseases is increasing again. Both the number of cases and outbreaks showed continuous decrease till the nineties, but after this there was a dramatic increase till 1996. After a slight improvement in the last 3 years you can realize worsening tendency once again. The most important bacteria are Salmonella ssp, especially Salmonella Enteritidis. In the last 5 years the outbreaks caused by calicivirus are more and more significant. The symptoms, the contaminated foods (eggs and egg-products, foods made from Poultry), the possibility of prevention of foodborne illnesses are very similar in cases of salmonellosis and campylobacteriosis. But there is a difference in place of the contamination: while the Salmonella ssp cause high number of illness in mass-catering, mainly among children, the Campylobacter outbreaks usually happen in private households and involve only small group Of ill people. Illnesses caused by Staphylococcus aureus can be found rarely. It comes often from contamination of the ready- to eat food by the workers. It is necessary to pay attention to the prevention of the botulism because Of the serious consequences. This pathogenic bacterium Usually gets into the human organ by eating home-made sausages, smoked hams. The authorities have to draw the Population's attention to the fact that significant proportion of the Outbreaks happens at home. The most frequently experienced contributing factors are the inadequate heating, using infected raw material, inadequate cooling or improper temperature. Often the reheating of the meal isn't sufficient. The hygienic regulations must be kept during the preparation at the catering and at home to prevent the foodborne diseases.