Food safety in the German military is affected by changes to European food hygiene regulations and the advent of convenience foods.

Author(s): Thomas Wilson*

The German military began implementing the European Food Regulation in 2003, and it was finished in 2006. In order to increase the safety of the food served to the troops, the German military also pioneered the use of convenience-based foods in 2003. This study's objective was to assess how these modifications affected food safety and the likelihood of food-borne disease outbreaks in the German military. Retrospective examination of data from 517 food-borne outbreaks that have place between 1995 and 2019 in the German military's responsibility regions both at home and abroad was done for this aim. Because of this, there was a significant drop in the occurrence of food-borne out breaks between the first and second observation periods. Desserts and prepared foods (first period), fresh produce, soups, and sauces were food items that were frequently discovered to be contaminated with pathogens (second period). While major pathogens were identified from suspected foods during disease outbreaks in both periods—Bacillus cereus, Enterobacteriaceae, Salmonella spp., and Staphylococcus aureus—the absolute number of isolates dropped dramatically in the second period. Hence, it can be stated that the introduction of convenience meals and the application of European food hygiene laws both significantly improved food safety.

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