Last Year Food Poisoning Cases Lowest Since 2002... "Impact of COVID-19"

Decrease in School Meal Participants Leads to Significant Drop in Food Poisoning Cases During Start of Term and Summer

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] As personal hygiene practices such as handwashing have been strengthened due to COVID-19, the number of food poisoning patients last year reached the lowest level in the past 10 years.

According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (Commissioner Kim Gang-rip) on the 7th, the number of food poisoning cases last year was 178, and the number of food poisoning patients was 53 per 1 million people, marking the lowest number of patients since food poisoning statistics began in 2002.

Compared to the average food poisoning occurrences over the past five years, the number of cases was 52%, and the number of patients was 40%.

This is interpreted as a result of increased public interest in hygiene due to COVID-19, changes in the use environment of group catering facilities, and strengthened safety management.

The facility with the highest number of food poisoning cases last year was "restaurants." Although the number of food poisoning cases in restaurants was 103, the highest among facilities, it decreased to about half compared to the five-year average of 210 cases, and the number of patients also significantly dropped from 1,870 to 827.

The number of food poisoning cases in school group catering facilities was 16, down from the five-year average of 34 cases, and the number of patients also greatly decreased from 2,304 to 448. This is because the number of school meals decreased as attendance days were reduced due to COVID-19, significantly reducing food poisoning that used to concentrate during the opening and summer seasons.

The number of cases and patients in other locations also significantly decreased to 24 cases and 381 patients, compared to the five-year averages of 59 cases and 1,650 patients. It appears that food poisoning also decreased as large-scale events such as local festivals were canceled due to COVID-19.

On the other hand, the number of food poisoning cases in group catering facilities other than schools was 33, and the number of patients was 1,086, slightly increasing compared to the five-year average of 925 patients.

By month, the number of cases significantly decreased in March to May and August to September. In March to May, personal hygiene was thoroughly practiced during the early spread of COVID-19, and in August to September, management was strengthened after the Ansan Kindergarten food poisoning incident in June, which is analyzed to have contributed to the decrease.

The number of heatwave days also appeared to be related to the occurrence of food poisoning. While the average number of summer heatwave days over the past five years was 18 days, and days with a maximum temperature of 30℃ or higher were 40 days, last year the number of heatwave days was 9, and days with temperatures above 30℃ were 26, about half of the usual years, showing a similar pattern to the number of patients occurring on days above 30℃.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety stated, "The new awareness and practice of personal hygiene due to COVID-19 seem to have played a major role in setting the record low for food poisoning occurrences," and added, "We will do our best in preemptive safety management, such as strengthening education and publicity for preventing food poisoning in group catering facilities."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.