Safety Assured: Food Originating from Saxony Is Free from Harm - Saxon Food Proven to Be Secure and Safe for Consumption
In a recent report presented by Health Minister Petra Köpping (SPD) and head of the State Institute for Health Protection (SIHP), Jens Albrecht, in Dresden, it was revealed that only 0.17 percent of food samples posed health risks, declaring food from Saxony safe for consumption.
Köpping praised the work of the SIHP, calling it indispensable for the health of humans and animals. The institute, with nearly 500 employees, has two locations in Dresden and is present in the cities of Chemnitz, Dresden, and Leipzig. 70% of the staff are women, and 30% are scientific staff.
The SIHP tests around one million samples each year, with the majority being milk samples. Albrecht considered everything to be in order. No surprising findings were reported in other areas of investigation by the SIHP. The rejection rate for food samples tested by SIHP was 16.8 percent, primarily due to incorrect labeling.
While food safety is a significant concern, the SIHP also focuses on tick-borne diseases, which are prevalent in Saxony. Lyme borreliosis (Borreliose) and Tick-Borne Encephalitis (TBE) are the most commonly reported tick-borne diseases in the region.
Lyme borreliosis symptoms may include an expanding circular rash (often a bull's-eye rash), fever, headache, and fatigue. It is treatable with antibiotics if caught early. TBE involves neurological symptoms and is caused by Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus; testing for antibodies against TBEV is common in health surveillance.
Last year, the SIHP focused on ticks in human medicine and collected 3,415 ticks from 45 locations in Saxon recreational areas. The common wood tick was the most prevalent tick species, making up 80.9 percent of the collected ticks. Borrelia was found in 29.3 percent of common wood ticks.
A new development in this study was the detection of the ALS virus (Alongshan virus), known in Asia, in four wood ticks in three districts of Saxony for the first time. However, no cases of illness due to the ALS virus were reported, and an underreporting rate cannot be ruled out.
The report also highlighted that the tick fauna has changed significantly in recent years due to climate change, affecting the occurrence of tick-borne pathogens. The report did not provide any new information about the vaccination rate for the FSME virus or the prevalence of Borreliosis in the region.
The symptoms of the ALS virus resemble those of the flu: fever, headache, and muscle pain. The course is rarely severe. Despite the detection of the ALS virus, the SIHP reiterated the importance of its work in maintaining the health and safety of citizens in Saxony.
