Key facts
- The prolonged cross-border outbreak of Salmonella Strathcona ST2559 remains ongoing in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA), with more than 160 new cases being reported in 2026. Many cases have travelled to Italy prior to falling ill, but the outbreak is not confined to only Italy as domestic cases have also been reported from other countries.
- Between 2023 and 2025, approximately 670 confirmed cases of Salmonella Strathcona ST2559 have been reported across EU/EEA countries as well as in countries outside the EU/EEA.
- Genetically close outbreak isolates have been detected since 2011, identifying a recurring public health concern. Based on the outbreak assessment published in 2025, epidemiological, microbiological, traceability and environmental investigations have identified small tomatoes from the Sicily region of Italy as the vehicle of infection.
- The risk for new infections remains if seasonal deliveries of contaminated produce continue. As of September 2026, this outbreak is continuing and the source is not yet fully controlled.
Overview
The prolonged cross-border outbreak of Salmonella Strathcona ST2559 remains ongoing in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA). The outbreak strain has been circulating in the EU/EEA since 2011, when a first outbreak was reported in Denmark, with small and elongated datterino tomatoes traded from Sicily (Italy) identified as the source of the infections. From 2023 to 2025, approximately 670 confirmed cases of S. Strathcona ST2559 were identified across EU/EEA. In addition, cases were reported in the United Kingdom (73), Canada (10), the US (24) and in Serbia (2). In 2025, the outbreak investigations carried out in Austria (epidemiological, microbiological and traceability investigations) identified small tomatoes traded from Sicily (Italy) as the source of the infections, as had been the case for the 2023 outbreak in Austria and the 2024 outbreak in Italy. The same conclusion was reached for an outbreak of S. Strathcona ST2559 in Denmark in 2011. This was further supported by the official sampling carried out at a primary producer in Italy sampled in November 2024, in which the outbreak strain was
detected in a sample of irrigation water taken from a well. Follow-up investigation carried out in Austria subsequent to the publication of the Rapid Outbreak Assessment in 2025, confirmed the outbreak strain in cherry tomatoes traded from Italy through sequencing (RASFF 2025.9937). Epidemiological investigations conducted in Sweden in December 2025 also pointed to a batch of tomatoes.
As of 9 October 2026, a total of ten EU/EEA countries (Austria, Denmark, France Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden) reported in total more than 160 new outbreak cases in the EpiPulse event 2023-FWD-00090. The vast majority had onset or sample date between July and September 2026. Sequencing is pending for approximately 100 additional cases. Several countries reported cases with either residency in, or a travel history, to Italy prior to symptom onset, suggesting a common exposure in Italy. However, the exposure is not confined to Italy only. Domestic cases continue to be reported from other countries. Epidemiological investigations for the cases reported in 2026 are ongoing. So far, Germany and Luxembourg have reported that all interviewed cases in 2026 (eight and three respectively) had consumed cherry tomatoes. Italy also reported tomato consumption among cases.
Overall, this is a recurring, seasonal outbreak with more than 800 confirmed cases reported between January 2023 and September 2026. Most cases have occurred during late summer months, particularly between June and October in all years. Case counts consistently peak during July to September across affected countries, and this seasonal pattern has been observed over multiple years.
The recurrence of cases in 2026, including those without travel history, suggests ongoing transmission and distribution of contaminated produce both in and beyond Italy. Further investigations should continue to verify whether small tomatoes from Italy are the vehicle of the newly reported infections in all countries, as other foods could also be, or become, involved in the transmission.
Actions
- Two joint ECDC-EFSA Rapid Outbreak Assessments have been produced related to this outbreak: in November 2024 and in October 2025.
- ECDC is monitoring the event in EpiPulse and is liaising with FWD-Net and EFSA to monitor and coordinate response efforts.
- EFSA continues to work with the competent authorities, facilitating information sharing and maintaining close attention to the evolving situation. Epidemiological updates on the number of cases reported were posted also in RASFF 2024.0384 in August and September 2026, concerns about the multi-country outbreak reoccurrence was shared with the risk managers at EU and national level in September 2026. EFSA continues to monitor the outbreak management measures as shared via the RASFF platform
- Countries are encouraged to continue updating EpiPulse with information about new cases, both epidemiological information and sharing of WGS data. This is of particular importance in the present outbreak to enable the investigation of the outbreak cluster in a European centralised analysis since the outbreak strain appears to show slight genetic variation due to the possibility of the environmental component of the root cause. Comparison to only one representative outbreak isolate nationally could limit the understanding of the dynamics of the outbreak cluster.