Otherindependent cross-checkfull text checked★ key study I-EGG-14 in-depth review
EU zoonoses report 2024
The European Union One Health 2024 Zoonoses Report.
Overview
EFSA, ECDC. EFSA J 2025 · PMID 41377167 · DOI 10.2903/j.efsa.2025.9759
Campylobacter and Salmonella are the most common food-borne infections in the EU; about 5% of fresh chicken samples and 0.3% of egg samples had Salmonella.
Does the study support the specific claim? Partly · Methodological quality: high
Plain-language summary
Study explained simply
- What did the researchers want to find out?
Occurrence of zoonoses and zoonotic agents in humans, food, animals and feed in the EU, 2024
- How was the study done?
EU surveillance report under Zoonoses Directive 2003/99/EC
- How many people, animals or samples were studied?
e.g., 95,954 fresh broiler meat samples; 12,327 egg samples; 27 EU Member States, UK (NI), 8 non-MS
- What was actually found?
Campylobacteriosis 63.7% of confirmed zoonosis cases, salmonellosis second. Salmonella-positive: fresh meat from broilers 4.9%, turkeys 4.7%, eggs and egg products 0.31%. Adult laying-hen flock Salmonella prevalence 4.0%, target serovars 1.6%. Salmonella in eggs and egg products = agent/food pair of most concern; broiler meat most frequently implicated in strong-evidence Campylobacter outbreaks. Campylobacter PHC 1000 CFU/g on neck skin.
- How large was the observed effect?
Descriptive; trend analyses
- What do the results mean in everyday life?
Poultry germs are a real but controllable risk.
- What are the study's limitations?
Reporting differences between countries; Operator vs official sampling differ
- What does it say about Elawady's specific claim?
Supports existence of pathogens; contradicts exaggerated prevalence.
- Do the results apply to Germany and Europe?
Directly EU.
- What can explicitly not be concluded from this study?
Not representative for Egypt.
Scientific in-depth review
1. Full reference
- Authors
- EFSA, ECDC
- Journal
- EFSA J
- Year
- 2025
- Identifier
- PMID 41377167 DOI 10.2903/j.efsa.2025.9759
- Verification
- verified – PubMed efetch 2026-10-25 ; full text read via Europe PMC fullTextXML (PMC12686834)
- Retracted
- no
- Corrections
- none
- Extent checked
- full text
- Conflicts of interest and funding
Institutional report
2. Research question
Occurrence of zoonoses and zoonotic agents in humans, food, animals and feed in the EU, 2024
3. Study design and population
- Study design
- Other – EU surveillance report under Zoonoses Directive 2003/99/EC
- Population
27 EU Member States, UK (NI), 8 non-MS
- Country
EU
- Period
2024
- Sample size
e.g., 95,954 fresh broiler meat samples; 12,327 egg samples
- Inclusion and exclusion criteria
Official and operator monitoring data
4. Methods and endpoints
- Exposure / intervention
Not applicable
- Comparator
Previous years
- Endpoints
Human cases; prevalence in food/animals; outbreaks
- Statistical methods
Descriptive; trend analyses
5. Actual results
- Results
Campylobacteriosis 63.7% of confirmed zoonosis cases, salmonellosis second. Salmonella-positive: fresh meat from broilers 4.9%, turkeys 4.7%, eggs and egg products 0.31%. Adult laying-hen flock Salmonella prevalence 4.0%, target serovars 1.6%. Salmonella in eggs and egg products = agent/food pair of most concern; broiler meat most frequently implicated in strong-evidence Campylobacter outbreaks. Campylobacter PHC 1000 CFU/g on neck skin.
- Absolute risks
Not applicable
- Authors' conclusion
Increasing trends in campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis, listeriosis, STEC over 5 years; 14 MSs met all Salmonella poultry targets.
6. Strengths
- Official harmonised EU data
7. Weaknesses
- Reporting differences between countries
- Operator vs official sampling differ
8. Risk of bias
- Orienting tool
- none applicable
- Type of assessment
- simplified assessment (abstract only)
- Full formal assessment
- no
- Overall risk of bias
- not assessable
- Rationale
Surveillance data; underreporting likely.
9. Assessment of the statistical interpretation
Prevalence of sample positivity, not consumer risk per serving.
10. Relevance to the specific claim
11. Independent contrary findings
Not applicable.
12. Transferability to Germany and Europe
Directly EU.
13. Overall methodological judgement
Authoritative baseline for EU.
| Multidimensional assessment | |
|---|---|
| Authenticity of the source | verified |
| Methodological quality | high |
| Risk of bias | some concerns |
| Precision of results | high |
| Directness | direct |
| Reproducibility | replicated |
| Consistency with the overall evidence | consistent |
| Regional transferability | high |
| Adequacy of the interpretation (by the archive) | not applicable |
14. Open questions
Egypt equivalent data.
15. Linked fact checks
- Salmonella is far more common in caged egg production than in cage-free systems (44% vs 3.2%). – Studies contradicting or limiting the claim
- About 80-85% of chickens are contaminated with Salmonella, even with the cleanest slaughter methods (the blood is contaminated). – Studies contradicting or limiting the claim
- Chicken carries Campylobacter and Salmonella, which cause human infections. – Studies supporting the claim