A pilot survey on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in food was previously conducted by the Centre for Food Safety (CFS), during which a total of more than 1100 food samples including raw meat and ready-to-eat (RTE) food were collected between December 2019 and June 2020 at retail level for AMR testing. The samples were tested for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-PE), meropenem-resistant organisms (MRO) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE). Based on the results and experience of the pilot survey, the routine surveillance programme on AMR in food has been in progress since 2022.
Below are the results of AMR in food of the pilot survey and routine surveillance programme. The data of AMR surveillance in food are also available on the website of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health.
While the proportion of MRO positive RTE food samples has increased from 1.6% in the pilot survey in 2019/2020 to 2.5% in the routine surveillance programme in 2022, it should be noted that the pilot survey had included only sashimi and vegetables as RTE food samples, and in the routine surveillance programme cut fruits and sandwiches were added. If only sashimi and vegetables are counted, the proportion of MRO positive RTE food samples has actually slightly dropped from 1.6% to 1.5%. Although a direct comparison between all RTE food samples in the pilot survey and the routine surveillance programme is inappropriate, the 0.9% increment is not statistically significant.
| ESBL-PE | % positive (Number of positive samples / number of samples tested) | |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot Survey (Dec 19 – Jun 20) | Routine Surveillance Programme (Feb 22 – Dec 22) (Reporting Period) | |
| Chicken | 88.1% (251/285) | 62.3% (38/61) |
| Pork | 84.7% (249/294) | 75.0% (48/64) |
| Beef | 65.8% (179/272) | 41.9% (26/62) |
| *Vegetables | 14% (14/100) | 11.6% (11/95) |
| *Sashimi | 13.7% (28/204) | 17.4% (16/92) |
| *Cut fruits | / | 2.0% (1/50) |
| *Sandwiches | / | 2.0% (1/50) |
| MRO | % positive (Number of positive samples / number of samples tested) | |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot Survey (Dec 19 – Jun 20) | Routine Surveillance Programme (Feb 22 – Dec 22) (Reporting Period) | |
| Chicken | 9.8% (28/285) | 23.5% (46/196) |
| Pork | 18.0% (53/294) | 28.9% (58/201) |
| Beef | 6.3% (17/272) | 10.5% (21/200) |
| *Vegetables | 3% (3/100) | 1.5% (5/338) |
| *Sashimi | 1.0% (2/204) | 1.5% (5/332) |
| *Cut fruits | / | 14.0% (7/50) |
| *Sandwiches | / | 4.0% (2/50) |
| VRE | % positive (Number of positive samples / number of samples tested) | |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot Survey (Dec 19 – Jun 20) | Routine Surveillance Programme (Feb 22 – Dec 22) (Reporting Period) | |
| Chicken | 0% (0/285) | 0.5% (1/196) |
| Pork | 0% (0/294) | 0% (0/201) |
| Beef | 0% (0/272) | 0% (0/200) |
| *Vegetables | 0% (0/100) | 0% (0/338) |
| *Sashimi | 0% (0/204) | 0.3% (1/332) |
* Ready-to-eat food
ESBL-PE continue to be detected in raw meat and RTE food samples in the routine surveillance programme.
The proportion of MRO positive RTE samples in routine surveillance programme are similar to the situation in pilot survey. The proportion of MRO positive vegetables plus sashimi samples in the routine surveillance programme did not show an increase from the pilot survey data. The proportion of MRO positive RTE samples did not show a statistically significant increase.