Are meats indeed sold in Portugal without clostridioides difficile?

The incidence and severity of diarrhoea associated with Clostridioides difficile have been increasing exponentially. In 2014, an outbreak with the hypervirulent ribotype 027 strain was firstly reported in Portugal and, among others, this ribotype have been mainly isolated from animals and food. This study aimed to detect and quantify C. difficile from different meats sold in traditional commerce and hypermarkets in two different cities of Portugal, Porto and Lisboa. Techniques of quantification and detection of C. difficile were performed, but absence of C. difficile in the 143 analysed samples indicates that, if present, the level of contamination should be very low (below 2 log CFU g–1). Despite the lack of confirmed cases of foodborne diseases caused by C. difficile, the increased CDI incidence suggests that contaminated foods may contribute to C. difficile-acquired infections.