Source attribution studies of foodborne pathogens, 2010–2023: a review and collection of estimates

Abstract

Identifying the most important sources and transmission routes of foodborne pathogens is crucial for developing food safety strategies at both national and regional levels. Various source attribution approaches and methods have been applied worldwide. This review aims to provide an overview of available studies that estimate the attribution of foodborne illnesses globally, regionally, and nationally, compiled by pathogen and region. We conducted a search in PubMed to identify peer-reviewed source attribution studies of one or more foodborne pathogens published from January 2010 to July 2023. Additionally, we consulted experts of the Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (FERG) for 2021–2025 and screened reference lists of included articles to identify further relevant studies. The extracted studies were categorized by pathogen, source attribution method, country, and region. We identified 62 studies published during the specified period, covering 34 pathogens across 26 countries, and extracted source attribution estimates. The most frequently studied pathogens were Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Escherichia coli. The methods most used were microbial subtyping, outbreak analysis, and mixed methods. Extracted data show substantial variation in results across methods and countries, highlighting the challenges of reaching a consensus on the relative contributions of foodborne disease sources at both regional and global levels based on empirical data. All extracted estimates are available in supplementary materials.