Salmonella poisoning in England hits decade high – and the cost of living crisis could be to blame

Cases of salmonella poisoning after eating contaminated food has hit a decade high in England, with an expert suggesting the cost of living crisis could be to blame.

There were 10,406 laboratory confirmed cases in 2025 of non-typhoidal salmonella caused by the bacteria found in food such as eggs and chicken.

That is up by a quarter from 2016 which saw 8,242 cases and just above the 2024 total of 10,389, according to the latest figures released by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

There were 13 types of salmonella bacteria detected last year that left 269 people unwell, with 33 admitted to hospital. There were no deaths, the foodborne outbreak data revealed.

Sources of outbreaks included restaurants, a hospital, a nursery and a prison, while others occurred across England as a whole. London saw the highest number of non-typhoidal Salmonella cases with 2,329 reports.

Dr Kimon Andreas Karatzas, professor in food microbiology at Reading University, told the Independent the cost of living crisis could be behind the rise in cases.

“The cost of living crisis might be potentially driving changes in supply chains. It is possible that the cost of living crisis forces more people to prepare food by themselves which might increase the chances of cross contamination,” he said.

He added: “The fact that there is no major increase in salmonellosis infections associated with outbreaks and a concurrent increase in campylobacter cases (highly associated with cross contamination at home) might be pointing to this direction.

“A better investigation of the above factors such as the numbers of salmonellosis infections associated with outbreaks or individual cases might help us understand what the reason for this salmonellosis increase is.”

The number of cases of campylobacter, another bacteria that causes food poisoning infections, fell year-on-year from 70,392 to 69,394, but the UKHSA said cases still remained high.

Cases of listeriosis, which is one of the most serious and severe foodborne diseases associated with contaminated raw food, killed 28 of the 181 people infected by it last year and resulted in 13 stillbirths or miscarriages.

UKHSA has urged people to practise good food hygiene to reduce their risk of suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting, caused by bacteria in contaminated food. Young children, older adults, and those with weakened immune systems should take extra care, as they are at higher risk of developing serious illness.

Dr Gauri Godbole, deputy director for gastrointestinal infections at UKHSA, said: “We are seeing consistently high levels of gastrointestinal infections in England. We continue to work closely with partners to detect, investigate, and stop the spread of these infections.

“These infections spread in many ways – through contaminated food or water, contact with an infected person, or contact with infected animals or their environment.

“Washing hands thoroughly with soap and water, particularly after using the toilet, handling raw meat, eating, and contact with animals or farms, can help prevent infection. Anyone experiencing diarrhoea or vomiting should avoid handling or preparing food for others, should not return to work, and children should not attend school or nursery until at least 48 hours after symptoms have cleared.”