Migrants smuggled into lorries may be behind the surge in deadly food poisoning cases in the UK, according to a major new report.
More than 3,000 truckloads or 80,000 tonnes of food alone may have entered the country contaminated since 2016, experts said.
Lorries—or refrigerated trailers—were the most common route used by people smugglers to hide migrants before tighter security around ports and the Channel Tunnel prompted smugglers to change their tactics to favour small boat crossings.
Migrants stowing away in lorries typically board them in northern France before remaining hidden until the vehicle has entered Britain.
But this has put trailers packed with chilled and frozen food, household goods and pharmaceutical products at risk of contamination, logistics firm Oakland International, who published the report, said.
The true figure could be even higher given just a small sample of refrigerated trailers are checked by Border Force.
Dean Attwell, Oakland International co-founder, said: ‘The rise in clandestine infiltration is not just a statistic, it’s a ticking time bomb for food safety, driver security, and public health.
‘Every compromised load puts the public at risk and costs the industry millions per year.’
He added: ‘We are witnessing a perfect storm, desperate individuals risking their lives to cross borders, criminals exploiting vulnerabilities in vehicle security, and a food industry struggling to maintain safety and compliance.
‘The current system is failing to protect both people and products.
‘The Food Standards Agency (FSA) must step up, and the entire industry must unite to close security gaps and safeguard our food supply.’
According to the report, a month-on-month increase in cases of ‘clandestine infiltration’, where migrants enter lorry trailers, has put the ‘safety of food products and the integrity of the supply chain at risk’.
It also found industry experiences large losses each year as spoiled loads are discarded due to infiltration and contamination.
It comes as health officials have this year sounded the alarm over the surge in deadly bacteria linked to food poisoning.
In April the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) warned cases of listeriosis were up 13 per cent on the five year average.
Listeriosis is a serious infection usually caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium listeria monocytogenes.
Shiga toxin-producing E.coli (STEC)—a rare strain of the diarrhoea-causing bug E.coli—cases had also surged seen ‘since the Covid pandemic’.
According to the annual report, other bacterial infections rose including yersinia increased from 454 to 660 and cyclospora cases almost doubled from 61 in 2023 to 123 in 2024.
Between 2022 and 2024, Campylobacter laboratory reports rose 27 per cent between 2022 and 2024, with 70,300 cases.
And separate UKHSA data released last month found salmonella cases have surged in the first three months of 2025, up on 2023 and 2024.
Salmonella is a group of bacteria that infects the gut of farm animals—and typically affects meat, eggs and poultry.
The nasty bug usually also causes sickness and a fever that clears up in days. However, it can be fatal.
Those most at risk at suffering severe illness from a salmonella infection include those with weakened immune systems such as children and the elderly.
If people become seriously ill, they may need hospital care because the dehydration caused by the illness can be life-threatening.
