Foodborne bacterial infections and intoxications in German catering systems from 1985 to 2000

Research in the area of food supplied in canteens can provide useful data a bout types and frequency of foodborne infections and intoxications which ar e not explicitly notifiable according to 3 Bundes-Seuchengesetz ( 6 and 7 I nfektionsschutzgesetz). There are generally more individual cases of food p oisoning on this area which can more readily be recorded than the cases occ urring in private homes. The study presented is based on reports by the Ger man military medical services covering 209 reliable epidemic analyses of fo odborne diseases concerning 9082 individual cases between 1985 and 2000. Th e main cause of foodborne diseases is Bacillus cereus, which has been respo nsible for 30 % of the cases and for 42 % of the outbreaks. The heat resist ant spores are found ubiquitious and are encouraged to germinate when the f oodstuffs are heated. They will multiply as soon as the maximum growth temp erature of 55 degreesC is reached. If cooked food is allowed to cool the gr owth of B. cereus can only be prevented if the temperature drops quickly fr om 55 degreesC to not more than 7 degreesC. Problems usually arise in cante ens producing large quantities of foodstuffs that have to be cooled rapidly after cooking, such as puddings or potato or noodle salad. The same is tru e for stock produced to be reheated when needed, such as mashed potato and rice.