This edition of the Codex podcast highlights how important data collection is for risk analysis. We talk to Dr Tim Barkham from Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore who was one of the expert contributors to a recent FAO publication on the risk to human health posed by a strain of Group B Streptococcus, GBS ST283.

When, in 2015, over 140 people in Singapore fell ill, investigations led scientists to this bacterium, found in freshwater fish in and around Southeast Asia. The outbreak was astonishing to Barkham, as it was the first documented foodborne outbreak of invasive disease caused by GBS, and because it caused serious illness in otherwise healthy adults.

As Codex examines through its Executive Committee how to address food safety and fair trade practices related to new food sources and production systems, the need for data for risk assessment of new challenges – such as the ST283 strain – is a reminder of how Codex needs to remain vigilant and prepared for future food safety issues, whatever they may be.

Learn more

Download the risk profile from FAO