Researchers looked at volume and where foods of animal origin came from that were introduced illegally via Frankfurt International Airport and Berlin-Schönefeld Airport by passenger luggage.
The aim was to gain an understanding of potential human health impact of illegally introduced food.
One reason illegal importation persists is because exotic foods are a traditional part of the diet of many immigrants who live in the EU, said the researchers.
Pathogens and food samples analysed
Foodborne zoonotic bacteria such as Salmonella, Listeria, Campylobacter, Yersinia, Verocytotoxin-producing E.coli (VTEC) and Brucella and the microbial quality of foods were analysed by total bacterial count.
Between 2012 and 2013, 663 food items were seized from 296 passengers arriving in Germany from 35 different departure countries. The majority (51%) originated from Turkey and Russia.
A total of 83% of the confiscated items from Turkey were milk products and 52% were either homemade or raw.
Products from Russia were mostly meat such as sausages or speck (65%) and meat (15%); 35% were homemade or raw.
The majority of Chinese products were bought (96%) and 67% were meat (mostly marinated and/or dried) and 27% of those originating from Egypt were raw.
A selection of 474 samples was subjected to microbiological analyses. Twenty-three food products tested positive for at least one of the pathogens analysed.
From four meat samples from Russia Salmonella enterica strains were isolated - two were identified as S. Infantis and two as S. Enteritidis.
In nine food samples L. monocytogenes were detected and 67% of the positive items originated from Russia and were isolated from meat or meat products.
Pathogen, food and origin
Five from seven (70%) of the VTEC positive samples were cheese, three from Turkey, and one each from Egypt and Georgia.
Only one isolate of Y. enterocolitica was recovered from dried beef from China and Campylobacter was not detected in any sample.
Seventeen food products were Brucella-positive, of these, eight were cheeses and half homemade.
The majority of the contaminated foods were meat (33%) or meat products (42%), and milk products (21%).
Although Brucella DNA was found in food items, the bacteria could not be isolated using traditional microbiological methods.
All microbiological-positive results were confirmed by PCR or for VTEC by enzyme immunoassay.
The largest individual consignment was 22kg of cheese and butter from a single passenger from Russia.
Bacterial counts ranged between 2.0 × 101 (in eggs from China and sausage from Israel) and 2.3 × 108 cfu/ml (in a sausage from Ukraine).
According to the German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology 5 × 106 cfu/ml should not be exceeded for any kind of meat and meat product but the study found 25% of samples revealed higher values.
The researchers said the worked showed pathogens such as Salmonellaand Listeria are introduced into the country via illegal passenger's luggage.
“Due to the described study limitations we could not determine if the risk of infection for the Germany consumer is greater than through the consumption of food items produced in Germany," they said.
“Although only identified at the DNA level, exotic pathogens such as Brucella spp. can potentially be imported, resulting in an increased risk for German consumers.
“Considering that only a small fraction of arriving passengers is subjected to airport custom controls and only a small number of confiscated foods could be analysed during this study, further investigations are needed to understand the public health risks posed by illegally introduced food items.”
Source: International Journal of Food Microbiology Volume 209, 16 September 2015, Pages 13–19
Online ahead of print, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2014.10.017
“Characterization of illegal food items and identification of foodborne pathogens brought into the European Union via two major German airports”
Authors: Janine Beutlich, Jens Andre Hammerl, Bernd Appel, Karsten Nöckler, Reiner Helmuth, Kristine Jöst, Marie-Luise Ludwig, Christine Hanke, Dirk Bechtold, Anne Mayer-Scholl