Current status on the control of meatborne parasites in the food industry

Meatborne parasites constitute an underestimated foodborne hazard. Given that records of incidents with some of these parasites date back 150 years, there are surprisingly few data on their inactivation, both as regards "conventional" as well as non-traditional (e.g., high-pressure processing) techniques. Methodological issues and a focus on pathogenic bacteria may have contributed to this absence. In view of the emerging preference for minimally processed foods, it should be reconsidered whether meatborne parasites are sufficiently addressed in food safety systems. This task was pursued by the EU COST Action "EURO-FBP: An European Network for foodborne Parasites" (https://www.eurofbp.org/). The present paper emerged from this action and aims at presenting the current status regarding meatborne parasites and pointing out potential deficiencies of their control in food.