This week marked the 11th International Symposium on Shiga Toxin (Verocyotoxin)-Producing Escherichia coli (VTEC 2023) Infections, held in Banff, Alberta, Canada. This conference, which has convened regularly since 1986, brings together scientists, clinicians and policymakers to advance the prevention, diagnosis, treatmentand control of this important foodborne disease.  It is the only regularly held scientific conference specifically and solely dedicated to Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC).  

The FAO/WHO Joint Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) has been providing scientific advice directed at preventing food from being contaminated with STEC and subsequently causing diarrhoea, kidney failure or even deaths. JEMRA’s contributions to international microbiological risk assessments, dating back to the early 2000s until the present, were featured at this flagship meeting.  

“Ever since JEMRA’s inception, we have addressed and updated information on STEC,” said Jeffrey LeJeune, FAO Food Safety Officer, recognizing the contributions from over 120 experts, including many participants at the meeting in Banff.  

The most recent published JEMRA documents focused on the control of STEC in raw beef, milk and cheeses, and in fruits, vegetables and sprouts, as well as the transmission of this pathogen through water.This information is being used by the Codex Alimentarius as they update and draft new international guidelines and standards for the control of STEC in various foods.Several of the researchers and policy makers at the meeting cited in their presentations and posters the importance JEMRA’s work on STEC in informing their work.   

The VTEC 2023 symposium concludes Wednesday 10 May, but JEMRA’s work on STEC continues.   

JEMRA’s work on STEC, and microbiological risk assessments for other foodborne pathogens can be found here: 

FAO food safety publications