Contribution of Food to the Human Health Burden of Antimicrobial Resistance

Abstract

The impact of foodborne antimicrobial resistance (AMR) on the human health burden of AMR infections is unknown. The aim of this review was to evaluate and summarize the scientific literature investigating all potential sources of human AMR infections related to food. A literature search was conducted in Embase (Ovid) and MEDLINE (Ovid) databases to identify appropriate studies published between 2010 and 2023. The results of the search were reviewed and categorized based on the primary subject matter. Key concepts from each category are described from the perspective of food safety as a public health objective. The search yielded 3457 references, 1921 remained after removal of duplicates, abstracts, editorials, comments, notes, retractions, and errata. No properly designed source attribution studies were identified, but 383 journal articles were considered relevant and were classified into eight subcategories and discussed in the context of four streams of evidence: prevalence data, epidemiological studies, outbreak investigations and human health impact estimates. There was sufficient evidence to conclude that AMR genes, whether present in pathogenic or nonpathogenic bacteria, constitute a foodborne hazard. The level of consumer risk owing to this hazard cannot be accurately estimated based on the data summarized here. Key gaps in the literature are noted.