Exploring historical Canadian foodborne outbreak data sets for human illness attribution

Area of Science:

• Food Safety
• Epidemiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Human illness attribution is crucial for informed food safety decisions.
• Analyzing foodborne outbreak data is a key method for attribution.
• Canadian foodborne outbreak data spanning three decades provides a historical perspective.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the utility of three Canadian foodborne outbreak datasets for estimating food attribution of gastrointestinal illnesses.
• To provide updated Canadian food attribution estimates.
• To analyze changes in food attribution over time.

Main Methods:

• Standardized microbiological etiology and food vehicle information from three comprehensive Canadian foodborne outbreak datasets (1976-2005).
• Analyzed agent-food vehicle combinations using multiple correspondence analysis to identify associations and temporal trends.
• Focused on outbreaks with identified agents and food vehicles (2,107 out of 6,908).

Main Results:

• Identified associations between Clostridium botulinum and wild meat/seafood.
• Revealed changes in food attribution patterns over the 30-year period.
• Generated updated food attribution estimates: Salmonellosis (29% produce, 15% poultry, 15% other meat), Campylobacteriosis (56% poultry, 22% dairy), E. coli (37% beef, 23% multi-ingredient dishes, 11% other meat).

Conclusions:

• The study provides valuable, updated food attribution estimates for key foodborne pathogens in Canada.
• Multiple correspondence analysis is useful for exploring temporal trends in foodborne illness attribution.
• Limitations exist, and findings should inform policy cautiously; complementary attribution methods may be beneficial.