Key Points

In 2021, 1,309 outbreaks of foodborne illness were reported in France, affecting 11,056 people, of whom 512 (5%) sought medical care (hospitalization or emergency room visits) and 16 (0.14%) died. The number of reported foodborne illness outbreaks is up compared to 2020, a year heavily impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, but remains below the figures for 2018 and 2019. As in previous years, the most frequently microbiologically confirmed pathogen was Salmonella, accounting for 44% of foodborne illness cases with a confirmed pathogen (43% in 2020). The pathogens most commonly suspected based on epidemiological and clinical information, but not confirmed microbiologically, were the toxin-producing bacteria Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, and Clostridium perfringens, accounting for 67% of foodborne illness cases where a pathogen was suspected (74% in 2020). For 19% of reported foodborne illnesses, no pathogen could be identified or suspected based on epidemiological and clinical information (18% in 2020). In 2021, 394 corrective measures were taken (staff information/training, facility disinfection, requests for repairs, facility closures, and food seizures) following foodborne illnesses occurring in institutional or commercial food service settings.