EFSA evaluates molecular typing methods for food-borne pathogens

Molecular typing methods are laboratory techniques, such as whole genome sequencing, that enable the classification and comparison of strains of disease-causing bacteria. EFSA’s Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) has reviewed the methods for typing the food-borne pathogens Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Listeria and Campylobacter, and has evaluated the effectiveness of these methods for:

• Detecting and identifying food-borne outbreaks;
• Estimating the contribution of various sources to food-borne illnesses;
• Predicting which strains of food-borne pathogens may potentially cause epidemics.

EFSA’s BIOHAZ Panel recommends that public health and veterinary authorities strengthen their cooperation on the use of molecular typing for food-borne pathogens.

• Scientific Opinion on the evaluation of molecular typing methods for major food-borne microbiological hazards and their use for attribution modelling, outbreak investigation and scanning surveillance: Part 1 (evaluation of methods and applications)