This is a library of real-world examples of food safety incidents and case studies. Each has key learnings to aid continuous improvement and professional development.
Also useful when developing food safety training materials.
Contents
Case Study: Allergen Failure (Tiramisu Death)
Case Study Collection: Human Errors in Food Safety
Case Study Collection: 10 Unexpected Food Safety Incidents
Case Study: Contaminated Food + Handwashing Failures Cause Brain Infection
Case Study: Tiny Maintenance Problem Causes Withdrawals Across 16 Countries
1. Case study: Allergen Failure
What went wrong – the tiramisu death
When Anna Bellisario died in 2023, she was 20 years old. She had just eaten a spoonful of ‘vegan’ tiramisu, a creamy Italian dessert usually made with mascarpone cheese at a vegan burger chain in Milan, Italy. She was allergic to milk protein and egg.
Her boyfriend, who was with her in the restaurant when she went into anaphylactic shock, told reporters she was careful about her allergies, which were severe, eating out only rarely, and carefully questioning the restaurant staff before ordering that day.
2. Case study collection: Human errors in food safety
This article describes two food safety incidents that were both caused by human error. One is so weird it’s hard to believe that it could have happened at all. The other is inexcusable, the result of a series of errors that should never have been allowed to happen.
Contents
Case 1: Unpredictable errors cause chemical poisoning
Case 2: Recalled products put back in the market
3. Case Study Collection: 10 Unexpected Food Safety Incidents
This is a collection of case studies about unexpected food safety incidents. Use it to level up your knowledge, demonstrate the value of your food safety activities to senior management and add interest to your food safety training materials.
In this list, you’ll find incidents caused by unexpected environmental contaminants, unexpected human behaviour and unexpected food ingredients/hazards.
Other unexpected events that can impact food safety include extreme weather events, such as floods or storms, and cyberattacks, such as the 2021 attack on global meat processor JBS that caused massive supply chain disruptions in Australia and North America.
Contents
4 Food Safety Incidents from Unexpected Environmental Contaminants
2 Food Safety Incidents from Unexpected Human Behaviours
4 Incidents from Unexpected Hazards in Ingredients
4. Case Study: Contaminated Food + Handwashing Failures Cause Brain Infection
A man in the US whose brain was scanned after he complained of headaches was found to have tapeworm larvae (Taenia solium) in his brain, a condition known as neurocysticercosis.
How did he end up with a tapeworm in his brain? Doctors were initially puzzled.
5. Case Study: Tiny maintenance problem causes withdrawals across 16 countries
In early November 2024, a food company in Germany discovered tiny strands of copper in one batch of its product: 10 kg buckets of mayonnaise. Some of the batch had been distributed to customers in six EU countries, so the company commenced a recall.
By mid-November 2024, a second safety alert had been posted for food(s) packed in buckets, produced by a different company. These were also contaminated with fragments of copper. The copper fragments were…