Key Points

In 2022, 1,924 outbreaks of foodborne illness were reported in France, affecting 16,763 people, of whom 643 (4%) sought medical care (hospitalization or emergency room visits) and 17 (0.1%) died. The number of reported foodborne outbreaks in 2022 is the highest recorded since surveillance began in 1987. It surpassed the previous record set in 2019 following a decline in 2020–2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As in previous years, the most frequently confirmed pathogen was Salmonella, accounting for 42% of foodborne illnesses with a confirmed pathogen (44% in 2021). The pathogens most commonly suspected based on epidemiological and clinical information, but not microbiologically confirmed, were the toxin-producing bacteria Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, and Clostridium perfringens, accounting for 73% of foodborne illness outbreaks for which a pathogen was suspected (67% in 2021). For 15% of reported foodborne illnesses, no pathogen could be identified or suspected based on epidemiological and clinical information (19% in 2021). In 2022, 591 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 (accounting for 42% of all such foodborne illnesses).