Application of foodborne disease outbreak data in the development and maintenance of HACCP systems.

This paper presents an analysis of 530 general foodborne outbreaks of food poisoning reported in England and Wales from 1992-1996, for their application to the development and maintenance of HACCP systems. The analysis included numbers of outbreaks by aetiological agents, food vehicles and factors contributing to outbreaks, allowing the quantification of the contribution of improper cooking, inadequate storage, cross contamination and the use of raw ingredients to outbreaks. This study represents a unique but practical system for linking outbreak data to the development of HACCP systems. International Journal of Food Microbiology 2000;59:221-234.