Foodborne Pathogens in the European Union and Poland: Surveillance Trends, Contamination Sources, and Implications for Food Safety Management

Foodborne pathogens remain a major public health concern in the European Union (EU) despite continued improvements in hygiene, regulation, and surveillance. This narrative review with descriptive surveillance analysis examines major bacterial foodborne hazards in the EU and Poland, focusing on the interpretation and comparability of officially reported human surveillance data and implications for food-safety management. Official EFSA/ECDC and Polish Chief Sanitary Inspectorate (GIS) reports were evaluated alongside peer-reviewed evidence on contamination pathways, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and prevention. The review focuses on Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), Listeria monocytogenes, and Yersinia spp. Surveillance series show substantial year-to-year variation, including marked decreases in reported cases during 2020 and subsequent increases for several pathogens; however, these patterns cannot be interpreted as direct changes in true incidence because surveillance coverage, testing practices, case definitions, and reporting systems differ across years and jurisdictions. For 2024, EFSA/ECDC reported 168,396 campylobacteriosis cases, 79,703 salmonellosis cases, 11,738 STEC infections, and 3041 invasive listeriosis cases. The synthesis supports stronger farm-to-fork contamination prevention, source-specific surveillance, environmental monitoring, and integrated One Health approaches.