Pathogens associated with seafood exports from Southeast Asia to the European Union: Analysis of the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (1997–2020)

Abstract

Over the years, the need for healthy food has increased the demand for seafood in the international market. However, despite the high global demand, seafood is highly perishable and may harbour pathogenic microorganisms that could be transferred to humans during handling, processing, and consumption. Therefore, establishing strict food safety standards and risk communication tools is critical to prevent the infiltration of unsafe seafood into global markets. In the global food supply chain, the European Union (EU) is the largest importer of seafood, while more than 80% of global seafood production is from Asia. Additionally, Southeast Asian countries account for 32% of global seafood production. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the microbiological safety of seafood imported from Southeast Asia to the EU by analysing alert notifications in the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) database. The RASFF is a tool used for reporting and communicating food safety-related risks among the EU Member States and other members of the RASFF network. A total of 301 notifications of pathogens in seafood originating from four Southeast Asian countries (Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia) were reported by 19 EU countries, including the United Kingdom (1997-2020). More than 56% of the pathogen notifications involved crustaceans and related products. Fifty-two percent of the notifications involved seafood from Vietnam, while 30% of the notifications from EU member countries were from Italy. Vibrio spp. was the most predominant bacterial pathogen responsible for 50% of the notifications, followed by Salmonella spp. and Clostridium accounting for 38% and 2% of the notifications, respectively. Norovirus was implicated in 10% of the notifications, and this was only in clams from Vietnam. These pathogens pose a risk to consumers’ health, indicating the need to enforce stringent food safety standards in producing countries to ensure the safety of seafood exported to other parts of the world. These actions will ultimately prevent economic loss associated with the rejection, destruction or import restrictions of contaminated seafood originating from Southeast Asia to the EU.