Salmonella and Campylobacter infections in England fell in the second quarter of this year compared with the same period in 2024.
Data from the UK Health Safety Authority (UKHSA) shows that in the second quarter of 2025 there were 18,677 confirmed laboratory reports for campylobacter and 2,342 for salmonella. From April to June 2024, there were 19,372 cases of Campylobacter infection and 2,387 cases of Salmonella infection.
However, if you compare the numbers with the first quarter of 2025, the number of infections has increased. From January to March, 15,997 cases of campylobacter and 1,591 cases of salmonella were reported.
In the second quarter of 2024, reports of Campylobacter increased by 22.7 percent compared to the same period in 2023.
The second quarter of 2024 also saw a 12.3 percent increase in salmonella cases compared to the same period in 2023.
The number of campylobacter laboratory reports increased from 60,055 in 2023 to 70,352 for all of 2024. The number of salmonella cases increased from 8,872 in 2023 to 10,388 in 2024.
In 2024, nine campylobacter outbreaks were reported to the UKHSA. They affected 122 people, of which 28 were laboratory-confirmed. Larger outbreaks have been linked to liver or products containing chicken or lamb liver, such as pâté or parfait.
In 2024, there were seven salmonella outbreaks. 304 people fell ill with it, of which 280 were laboratory confirmed. Outbreaks have been linked to a variety of foods, including eggs, tomatoes and red meat products.
UK Microbiology Laboratory Report
In other news, a report covering the activities of the UK National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for food microbiology has been published. from April 2024 to March 2025.
UKHSA provides services to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS). It covers Listeria monocytogenes, coagulase-positive staphylococci, E. coli, Campylobacter, Salmonella and antimicrobial resistance.
The amendment to the EU regulation will tighten controls for businesses that cannot ensure that Listeria monocytogenes remains below 100 colony forming units per gram (CFU/g) throughout the shelf life. The current rule is that these companies must demonstrate the absence of Listeria monocytogenes in a 25-gram sample of the ready-to-eat food at the end of production. The amendment expands the requirement of absence throughout the shelf life when companies cannot guarantee growth will be below 100 CFU/g.
In the EU this will apply from 1 July 2026. However, in the UK it will only affect Northern Ireland and firms trading with the EU. The FSA has not yet said whether this regulation will be introduced into UK law in the future.
The NRL has responded to an official laboratory (OL) request regarding listeria testing. The laboratory also received four requests for product testing from food processing companies, which were forwarded to the company's nearest PR.
An OL inquiry was received regarding the revised UKHSA guidelines for assessing the microbiological safety of ready-to-eat foods on the market, which were published in September 2024.
In February 2025, NRL organized a training workshop for its official laboratories on screening for antimicrobial resistant bacteria in food.
Proposed activities for April 2025 to March 2026 include meetings with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) on AMR, Campylobacter and Salmonella; meet with CEFAS on E. coli and Salmonella issues in shellfish; and liaise with Campden BRI to discuss and implement issues testing activities.
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