Belgian officials stress importance of food safety after outbreak increase

Belgian officials have urged people to pay attention to food safety following an increase in the number of outbreaks.

In 2024, 777 foodborne outbreaks were reported. This is more than in 2023, when there were 722 outbreaks.

The Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) said about 17 percent of food poisoning cases were contracted in the home and urged caution regarding food safety when hosting meals with family or friends.

A total of 4,248 people became ill and 205 required hospitalization in 2024. In 2023, 3,194 people were sickened, 76 were hospitalized, and one died. In 2022, there were 830 outbreaks, 4,247 ill people, and two deaths.

The search for sources of food poisoning is carried out between FASFC, also known as AFSCA or FAVV, community services such as Department Zorg in Flanders, AVIQ in Wallonia and Vivalis in Brussels, and Sciensano, Belgium’s national public health institute.

It was only proven that food was the cause in a few cases, when food and human samples contained the same bacteria, viruses, or toxins that triggered the disease. In the other cases, there was a strong suspicion of a relationship between the illness and food, but this could not be established based on the investigations.

Other incidents
Earlier this year, 67 Salmonella infections were linked to eating eggs in Belgium. Between the beginning of 2025 and mid-February, Sciensano was able to link 67 cases of salmonellosis to the outbreak, mainly in Flanders. It was caused by Salmonella Enteritidis.

Of the patients, 37 were women and 30 were men. It is not known exactly how many patients needed hospital treatment but among people over 65 years old, a high proportion had to be hospitalized. No deaths were recorded.

At a laying hen farm, the same strain of Salmonella as in the patients was found. Depo-Ei CV withdrew affected eggs from sale and recalled them from consumers. 

In 2023, the agent was unknown in 662 of the 722 outbreaks. Norovirus caused 15 outbreaks with 478 patients and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) was behind 14 outbreaks with 48 patients. Salmonella and Bacillus cereus caused seven outbreaks, with 38 and 60 cases, respectively. One person died as part of three Listeria outbreaks, with 17 cases. Two Clostridium perfringens outbreaks had 53 patients.

David Clarinval, deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Employment, Economy and Agriculture, said: “Food poisoning can have very serious consequences, particularly for vulnerable groups. This is why [we call] on everyone to carefully observe basic food safety rules, such as good hygiene and respecting the hot and cold chains, in order to minimize the risk of food poisoning.”

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