The number of reported cases of salmonella plummeted in Victoria last year, with almost half as many reported than on average.

But Lydia Buchtmann, from the Food Safety Information Council, isn’t entirely convinced it was a reality.

“To actually get it diagnosed, you need pathology tests and obviously a lot of those were taken up with COVID tests,” she said.

However, one of the biggest risk factors for the illness is group catering settings, which obviously dropped due to lockdowns and COVID-19 restrictions.

Click PLAY below to hear more on 3AW