Outbreaks of Salmonella illness associated with frozen raw breaded chicken products in Canada, 2015-2019

Epidemiol Infect. 2019 Aug 22:147:e254. doi: 10.1017/S0950268819001432.

Abstract

Frozen raw breaded chicken products (FRBCP) have been identified as a risk factor for Salmonella infection in Canada. In 2017, Canada implemented whole genome sequencing (WGS) for clinical and non-clinical Salmonella isolates, which increased understanding of the relatedness of Salmonella isolates, resulting in an increased number of Salmonella outbreak investigations. A total of 18 outbreaks and 584 laboratory-confirmed cases have been associated with FRBCP or chicken since 2017. The introduction of WGS provided the evidence needed to support a new requirement to control the risk of Salmonella in FRBCP produced for retail sale.

Keywords: Salmonella; frozen raw breaded chicken products; outbreak; raw uncooked chicken.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Canada / epidemiology
  • Chickens
  • Disease Outbreaks*
  • Food Preservation*
  • Foodborne Diseases / epidemiology*
  • Foodborne Diseases / microbiology
  • Freezing*
  • Humans
  • Meat*
  • Molecular Typing
  • Salmonella / classification
  • Salmonella / genetics
  • Salmonella / isolation & purification
  • Salmonella Infections / epidemiology*
  • Salmonella Infections / microbiology
  • Whole Genome Sequencing