Food and drink recalls climbed slightly in Germany this past year with Listeria responsible for the majority of pathogen alerts.
In 2025, German federal states and the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) published 323 recall notices, including 291 for foods and beverages.
More than 100 recalls were because of pathogens. Listeria was the most frequent cause with 43 reports, followed by Salmonella with 27. Other reasons for recalls included allergens, foreign bodies, harmful substances, contaminants and pesticide residues.
In 2024, 272 recalls were for food and 80 were because of pathogens. Bakery products were the top category followed by milk and dairy products.
Of the 291 notifications in 2025, the top categories were fruits and vegetables, meat and sausage products, and ice cream and confectionery.
“In previous years, Salmonella topped the list of pathogens that led to food recalls. Since 2024, Listeria has been at the top of this list,” said Dr. Gaby-Fleur Böl, BVL president.
So far in 2026, there have been 17 food recalls. Six were because of foreign bodies and three mentioned allergens. The top product categories are infant formula as well as ice cream and sweets.
Norovirus outbreak
Findings have also been published from an investigation into a norovirus outbreak in different childcare facilities in 2023.
In June 2023, a large outbreak occurred in Göttingen in Lower Saxony, with 538 illnesses in 49 childcare facilities. Cases included 473 children and 65 adults. All sites received lunches from the same caterer, called BioKüche Leinetal. Two different menus were offered daily, and on some days a dessert or fruit was also available.
Several facilities cancelled food orders because of gastroenteritis symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting in children. BioKüche Leinetal then informed the consumer protection service and the health department saying one of the delivered meals could have been contaminated and caused the symptoms.
Based on two study approaches, frozen berries in a dessert were the most likely vehicle of infection, although norovirus could not be detected in food. The initial suspicion was based on detection of the virus in imported frozen berries in the past. Berries can be contaminated in various ways such as through contaminated irrigation water used during freezing or by people infected with norovirus during harvesting.
Norovirus was detected in 23 of the 25 stool samples from sick people in nine daycare centers. Of the 25 stool samples from food company staff, 23 were negative for norovirus, and two could not be evaluated. During inspections of BioKüche Leinetal no significant hygiene deficiencies were found. Employees denied any prior gastrointestinal illnesses. Based on the inspection, closing the company was not deemed necessary.
The wild berry dessert used a mixture of frozen berries and cherries that were not heated during preparation. It also contained leftover strawberry fruit compote that had been part of an earlier lunch menu. The strawberries used were heated during processing.
The berries came from four countries: blueberries and blackberries from Ukraine, strawberries from Turkey, red currants from Poland, and raspberries from Serbia, plus the batch was mixed in Belgium before distribution.
The batch of wild berries totaled 9.8 tons. Food safety authorities found 40-kilograms of the berry mix at the manufacturer’s level, of which 37.5-kilograms were tested. However, Norovirus RNA was not detected in samples of the finished dessert or in tested raw materials.
Author: Joe Whitworth
Source: Food Safety News
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