Arh Hig Rada Toksikol 2001;52:169–175
169
COUNTRY REPORT
FOOD CONTAMINATION
MONITORING IN CROATIA
K runoslav CAP
AK, M
arijan
CAPAK,
Marijan
TALENI}, and A
ndreja BARI{IN
KAT
Andreja
KA
Croatian National Institute of Public
Health, Zagreb, Croatia
Received December 2000
The Croatian National Institute of Public Health
implements the statistical food safety monitoring
programme for foods marketed in Croatia in
accordance with effective laws and regulations.
Laboratories for food safety control, certified by
the Ministry of Health, report their findings in
quarterly notifications, using the standard forms
and issue statements of compliance or noncompliance with current regulations, specifying
the cause in case of the latter. This paper brings
the results for the period 1993–99 as an
illustration of the monitoring programme.
Key words:
laboratory analysis, legislation, monitoring, food safety
M
icrobiological and chemical food contamination as the common cause of consumer infections and poisonings is currently one of the world’s leading public health
problems. Due to changes in human lifestyle, dietary habits, and the globalisation of
food supply it has become an increasing problem in the developed Western countries.
One of the country’s top priorities is to secure a sufficient food supply and prevent
human health hazards related to food through a program of monitoring and control
measures. To be effective, the Croatian sanitary surveillance system requires an efficient food production and a proper food control legislation, a well-organised, efficient
and modern inspectorate, and a well-equipped laboratory service.
FOOD CONTROL METHODS
Food production and of the marketing system are regulated by the Infectious
Diseases Act (1), Food and Object of Common Use Safety and Sanitary Surveillance
Act (2), and a number of bylaws.
Presented at the ICS-UNIDO Workshop on Contamination of Food and Agroproducts, 28 September – 1 October 2000, Vara`din, Croatia
170
Capak K, Kataleni} M, Bari{in A.: FOOD CONTAMINATION MONITORING IN CROATIA
Arh Hig Rada Toksikol 2001;52:169–175
The Croatian Ministry of Health has appointed an interministerial commission to
prepare new food legislation (Food Safety bill) with the main aim to harmonise the
Croatian legislation with the EU’s and to resolve overlapping responsibilities in the
control and monitoring system between ministries. Medical surveillance of food handlers, laboratory control of raw food materials and final food products prior to marketing, and the inspection of manufacturing, marketing conditions, and of food safety
at all stages follow the above regulations.
Today there are 23 licensed laboratories all over Croatia. Seven laboratories are
licensed for special assays (these encompass special microbiological assays for the
identification of species, some special physicochemical analyses, such as pesticide,
metal, metalloid, biogenic amine, additive, vitamin, mineral and mycotoxin determinations; special estimations of bioresidue levels in animal samples, etc.) and the other
fourteen for basic food analyses. The basic analysis covers sensory tests, basic microbiological assays, purity appraisals of food and of objects of common use, basic
physicochemical analyses, freshwater quality assays according to the purpose of the
water, physicochemical and microbiological water analyses, and so on (3). In their
reports to the Croatian National Institute of Public Health (CNIPH), all certified laboratories have to specify the number and the type of analyses.
Subject to the above regulations, food samples are examined for a whole range of
health safety, sensory, microbiological, and chemical parameters. Under the 1993 Health
Act (4), CNIPH in Zagreb coordinates the activity of all certified laboratories with regional
institutions. Furthermore, major, better equipped, and more experienced food control
and environmental protection laboratories are located in Zagreb (Zagreb Public Health
Institute) and in Osijek, Rijeka, Split, and Pula (regional public health institutes).
The surveillance of food production and distribution is carried out by the Sanitary
Inspectorate which consists of the County Sanitary Inspection Service, Border Sanitary
Inspection, and State Sanitary Inspection. While most food control laboratories are
located in public health institutes, some are in other certified institutions such as at the
Faculty of Nutrition and Biotechnology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, and the Veterinary
Institute. The safety of foods of animal origin is also monitored by the Veterinary Inspectorate and enforced by the Market Inspectorate through the national food legislation.
In the inspection system, five food samples per 1,000 inhabitants are assayed
under the »Minimum Annual Food and Object of Common Use Sampling Schedule«
prepared annually in accordance with legal stipulations. As local county budgets often
fail to provide sufficient money for the implementation of the plan, the means necessary for the effective sanitary food monitoring should be secured through the national
budget. Certified laboratories are required to submit food-test reports showing the
number of analysed food samples and their findings.
INFECTIOUS DISEASES, MICROBIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL
CONTAMINATION
In 1999, the CNIPH Epidemiological Service (5), acting within the surveillance system
for infectious diseases, was notified of 8,244 cases of food poisoning (bacterial infections or intoxications with bacterial toxins through food) from across the country. The
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Capak K, Kataleni} M, Bari{in A.: FOOD CONTAMINATION MONITORING IN CROATIA
Arh Hig Rada Toksikol 2001;52:169–175
corresponding 1997 and 1988 figures were 8,241 and 8,320, respectively. In the past
few years, notified outbreaks varied between 47 and 66 (average 56) a year, affecting
581 to 1,492 people in each outbreak (average 1,036) (Table 1). A 5-year case-trend
analysis for the period 1973–97 showed these diseases to be on the continuous rise
(Table 2, Figure 1).
Table 1 Foodborne disease outbreaks and cases, Croatia 1993–99 (4–11)
Year
No. of
outbreaks
Cases per
outbreak
Single
cases
Total number of
cases
Cases of
salmonellosis
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
56
67
47
47
56
65
66
2,028
1,811
1,433
928
581
1,492
1,223
8,954
7,237
6,294
5,553
7,660
6,828
7,021
10,982
9,048
7,727
6,481
8,241
8,320
8,244
7,087
4,931
3,642
2,899
4,204
4,288
4,120
Table 2 Cases of food intoxication in 5-year periods (3, 9)
Period
Cases
1973–1977
1978–1982
1983–1987
1988–1992
1993–1997
17,035
20,844
39,959
41,111
42,479
45,000
40,000
No. OF CASES
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
1973–1977
1973–1977
1973–1977
1973–1977
1973–1977
PERIOD (YEARS)
Figure 1 Trends in the number of food intoxication cases in 5-year periods (3, 9)
Capak K, Kataleni} M, Bari{in A.: FOOD CONTAMINATION MONITORING IN CROATIA
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Microbiological food contamination is a frequent cause of epidemics. While
salmonella and staphylococcal toxin were the most common bacterial causes, trichina took the lead among parasites. Conditions leading to these epidemics differed
from one causative agent to another. The absence of veterinary monitoring of swine
slaughters in households or small manufacturing facilities accounted for the outbreaks of trichina. Thermally underprocessed and originally contaminated foodstuffs
were usually associated with salmonella outbreaks. Particularly noted was the outbreak of Campylobacter jejuni in a Zadar kindergarten in 1998 which affected 388
persons (Table 3).
According to the CNIPH Health Ecology Service (data from all certified laboratories), of 35,092–46,823 samples analysed annually for microbiological parameters
Table 3 Foodborne disease-associated cases in outbreaks by causative agent,
Croatia 1993–99 (4–11)
1993
Causative agent
1994
1995
Year
1996
1997
1998
1999
No. of cases
Salmonella
Trichinella spiralis
Staphylococcus aureus
Shigella
Clostridium perfringens
Clostridium botulinum
Bacillus cereus
Mycetismus
Campylobacter jejuni
Escherichia coli
HAV
Histamine
Total known
Unknown
1,374 1,240
900
25
63
115
73
14
7
192
7
0
0
0
50
0
3
0
0
10
0
35
0
0
0
0
14
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
17
0
1,699 1,354 1,086
329
457
347
403
156
0
0
65
5
0
0
0
19
0
0
648
280
378
723
614
49
298
291
84
0
30
0
4
4
0
16
57
3
9
12
0
0
0
6
0
0
0
388
0
15
0
0
0
0
7
0
0
0
535 1,438 1,015
46
54
208
Total
2,028 1,811 1,433
928
581 1,492 1,223
Table 4 Food samples found to be unsafe by microbiological assay (6–11)
Domestic
Year
Samples
analysed
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
29,199
32,902
34,556
33,624
34,389
35,405
Imported
Unsafe
No.
%
2,583
3,520
3,944
3,113
3,669
2,830
8.80
10.70
11.40
9.26
10.67
7.99
Samples
analysed
5,893
7,509
8,889
12,402
11,136
11,417
Total
Unsafe
No.
%
151
174
233
314
296
186
2.60
2.30
2.60
2.53
2.66
1.63
Samples
analysed
35,092
40,411
43,455
46,026
45,525
46,823
Unsafe
No.
%
2,734
3,694
4,177
3,427
3,965
3,260
7.80
9.10
9.60
7.44
8.71
6.96
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Capak K, Kataleni} M, Bari{in A.: FOOD CONTAMINATION MONITORING IN CROATIA
Arh Hig Rada Toksikol 2001;52:169–175
2,734–4,177, or 6.96–9.60% are found unsafe (Table 4). As for chemical parameters, of 22,037–28,588 analysed food samples, 1,013–2,223 or 3.90–10.0% are
found unsafe (Table 5).
Table 5 Food samples found to be unsafe by chemical assay (6–11)
Domestic
Year
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
Samples
analysed
9,320
16,485
12,958
12,382
13,763
11,636
Imported
Unsafe
No.
%
874
1,503
827
755
651
512
Samples
analysed
9.40
9.10
6.38
6.10
4.73
4.40
12,717
12,968
13,048
16,206
14,667
14,351
Total
Unsafe
No.
%
697
720
603
645
525
501
5.34
5.60
4.62
4.00
3.58
3.49
Samples
analysed
22,037
29,453
26,006
28,588
28,430
25,987
Unsafe
No.
%
1,553
2,223
1,430
1,400
1,176
1,013
10
7.00
5.50
4.90
4.14
3.90
Increased counts of microorganisms and enterobacteria, coagulase-positive staphylococci, E. coli, and salmonella were the leading reasons for the unfitness of food
for human consumption. As regards chemical parameters, the leading nonconformities were the inappropriate food composition, sensory properties, and the use of additives not allowed for particular types of food. There were some individual cases of
excessive food additive levels.
PESTICIDES AND HEAVY METALS
A comparison of results (Table 6) from the 1989 food pesticide monitoring with the
1999 figures shows a significant decrease in the number of samples with excessive
pesticide residue levels, confirming thus that proper practice was followed in the treatment of crops and the use of land.
Table 6 Pesticide residues in food (3, 11)
Year
HCB
HCH
Lindane
DDT and metabolites
Organophosphorous
% with residues:
1989
1999
27.8
19.5
32.7
51.7
71.0
68.5
76.7
83.6
33.0
13.8
N above MRL*:
1989
1999
10.0
0.0
5.0
0.0
52.0
0.0
79.0
1.0
5
0
* MRL - Maximum residue limit
Number of analysed samples: 1989=2922; 1999=474
Capak K, Kataleni} M, Bari{in A.: FOOD CONTAMINATION MONITORING IN CROATIA
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Arh Hig Rada Toksikol 2001;52:169–175
The fact that increased pesticide, heavy metal, cadmium, lead, and arsenic levels
(Table 7) in food, which may indicate greater contamination of agricultural soil, were
extremely rare suggests that such soils have been preserved from these types of
contamination.
Table 7 The number of food samples assayed for mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium, and the number
and percentage of samples exceeding the maximum allowances (7–9)
Mercury
Arsenic
Year
Total
assays
Unsafe
No. %
1995
1996
1997
4,795
4,777
5,415
5
11
3
0.1
0.23
0.06
Total
assays
6,995
6,513
7,459
Lead
Unsafe
No.
%
2
0
18
0.03
0
0.24
Total
assays
7,445
7,288
8,189
Cadmium
Unsafe
No.
%
8
7
12
0.11
0.1
0.15
Total
assays
5,684
5,110
6,171
Unsafe
No. %
9
2
3
0.16
0.04
0.03
REFERENCES
1. Zakon o za{titi pu~anstva od zaraznih bolesti [Infectious Diseases Act, in Croatian]. Narodne
novine 1992;60:1338–49.
2. Zakon o zdravstvenoj ispravnosti i zdravstvenom nadzoru nad namirnicama i predmetima op}e
uporabe [Food and Object of Common Use Safety Act, in Croatian]. Narodne novine 1997;1:39–
46.
3. Capak K, Petrovi} I. Country Report Croatia. Proceedings of the ILSI/FAO Workshop on Food
Safety and Quality Control Systems; 2–6 Dec 1996; Budapest, Hungary. Brussels: International Life Science Institute; 1996 p. 122–6.
4. Croatian National Institute of Public Health (CNIPH). Croatian Health Service Yearbook 1993.
Zagreb: CNIPH; 1994.
5. Croatian National Institute of Public Health. Nadzor nad zaraznim bolestima [Infectious Disease Surveillance, in Croatian]. Epidemiolo{ki vjesnik 1999;(1-12).
6. Croatian National Institute of Public Health (CNIPH). Croatian Health Service Yearbook 1994.
Zagreb: CNIPH; 1995.
7. Croatian National Institute of Public Health (CNIPH). Croatian Health Service Yearbook 1995.
Zagreb: CNIPH; 1996.
8. Croatian National Institute of Public Health (CNIPH). Croatian Health Service Yearbook 1996.
Zagreb: CNIPH; 1997.
9. Croatian National Institute of Public Health (CNIPH). Croatian Health Service Yearbook 1997.
Zagreb: CNIPH; 1998.
10. Croatian National Institute of Public Health (CNIPH). Croatian Health Service Yearbook 1998.
Zagreb: CNIPH; 1999.
11. Croatian National Institute of Public Health (CNIPH). Croatian Health Service Yearbook 1999.
Zagreb: CNIPH; 2000.
Capak K, Kataleni} M, Bari{in A.: FOOD CONTAMINATION MONITORING IN CROATIA
Arh Hig Rada Toksikol 2001;52:169–175
175
Sa‘etak
PRA]ENJE ISPRAVNOSTI NAMIRNICA U HRVATSKOJ
U skladu sa zakonom Hrvatski zavod za javno zdravstvo organizira i provodi statisti~ki program pra}enja
zdravstvene ispravnosti namirnica koje su u prometu u Hrvatskoj. Laboratoriji koje je Ministarstvo zdravstva
Republike Hrvatske ovlastilo za kontrolu ispravnosti namirnica izvje{}uju na propisanim obrascima o analizama
namirnica prema broju i vrsti. Osim toga, oni nazna~uju odgovara li namirnica vrijede}im doma}im propisima ili ne,
a u slu~aju ustanovljenih prekr{aja zakona navode uzrok prekr{aja. Ovaj ~lanak ilustrira neke rezultate pra}enja u
razdoblju 1993.–99. U tom periodu, od ukupno pregledanih uzoraka namirnica zdravstveno neispravno bilo je 6,96–
9,60% zbog mikrobiolo{kih parametara, a 3,90–10,0% zbog kemijskih parametara.
Kao naj~e{}i uzroci neprikladnosti namirnica za ljudsku uporabu zapa‘eni su pove}ani broj mikroorganizama i
enterobakterija, koagulaza-pozitivnih stafilokoka, E.coli te prisutnost salmonela. Kod kemijskih parametara naj~e{}i
uzroci zdravstvene neispravnosti bili su neprikladni sastav hrane i organolepti~ka svojstva, kao i upotreba aditiva
nedopu{tenih u odre|enoj vrsti namirnice. Otkriveno je nekoliko pojedina~nih slu~ajeva pove}ane koli~ine aditiva za
namirnice.
Klju~ne rije~i:
laboratorijska analiza, trovanje hranom, zakonski propisi, zdravstvena ispravnost
Requests for reprints:
Krunoslav Capak, M. D., Ph. D.
Hrvatski zavod za javno zdravstvo
P. O. Box 684, HR–10000 Zagreb, Croatia
E-mail: marijan.katalenic@zg.tel.hr