Topics
Health hazards in foods
Concerns regarding their occurrence and safety measures
2023 Volume 72 Issue 3 Pages 191-202
Details
2023 Volume 72 Issue 3 Pages 191-202
Outbreaks of food poisoning in Japan have been on a continuous downward trend over the past quarter century. On the other hand, outbreaks due to Anisakis have increased in the last decade, probably because doctors did not recognize these outbreaks as food poisoning, and did not report them to the public health department before that time. As a result, they were not included in the statistics. This may be related to the passive surveillance system, in which doctors notify the health department when they recognize a patient with food poisoning.
Therefore, if a cause is not included in the etiological agents section of the report form, it may not be recognized as a causative agent of food poisoning. In such a case, not only would it not be reported as food poisoning and recorded in the statistics, but food safety measures against the causative agent might also not be adequately taken.
If the administrative authorities in charge of food safety do not receive reports of cases of these original foodborne illnesses, there is a risk that the administrative authorities will not take measures such as providing guidance to food-related businesses, and that no progress will be made in improving their foodborne illness countermeasures.
Other than anisakiasis, for example, histamines are also not included in the list of etiologic agents in its reporting form, and may be underreported by medical institutions.
Non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum has the potential to grow and produce toxins under refrigeration. However, due to improved and diversified food packaging technologies, the shelf life of fish and shellfish products that may contain the bacteria tends to be extended. There are concerns about whether the risk assessment is sufficient to meet the actual conditions of these products.
In addition, although the number of hepatitis E cases has increased over the past 10 years, only a few cases are reported as food poisoning. There are concerns about whether the outbreaks are being investigated sufficiently to pursue the causative foods, etc., and whether measures to prevent their occurrence are being adequately considered.
