Foodborne disease surveillance in NSW: Moving towards performance standards

Abstract

NSW Health has sole responsibility for the surveillance of foodborne disease in humans, through the receipt of notifications for a range of conditions that are predominantly or potentially foodborne in transmission. These conditions include: salmonellosis, listeriosis, shigellosis, typhoid, Verotoxin producing E. coli infection, cholera, hepatitis A, giardiasis, and cryptosporidiosis. In addition, outbreaks of foodborne disease affecting two or more people are notifiable. Surveillance methods used in NSW are described in detail in this issue of the NSW Public Health Bulletin by Neville and McAnulty. This article describes the evolution of, and recent investments in, foodborne disease surveillance and control in NSW, and discusses the opportunities to produce measurable enhancements to food safety from these investments.