Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 6/10/15


State-based reporting of foodborne illness outbreaks have declined in a 10-year period studied by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) in a report that also uncovered that the rate of solving where the outbreaks began also have fallen.

CSPI studied more than 10,400 foodborne illness outbreaks reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) between 2002 and 2011. The report found that outbreak reporting has dropped by 42 percent in the period despite the fact that one in six Americans — about 48 million people — contracted an illness from contaminated food within that decade alone.

The report also noted that of the 10,000-plus outbreaks, just 3,933 outbreaks were “solved,” where outbreaks are linked to the contaminated food and the pathogen is successfully identified. CSPI also reported that restaurants were the most frequent location for outbreaks — 1,610 in the period — nearly twice as many as those that occurred in private homes (893). Those restaurants caused more than 28,500 illnesses during the reporting period while outbreaks that originated from private home meals generated about 13,000 illnesses.

CSPI also reported that seafood is the riskiest when it comes to foodborne illness outbreaks on a pound-for-pound basis. Poultry, beef, eggs and vegetables round out the top five risky foods. Produce — especially fruit — was responsible for the highest overall numbers of illness outbreaks, again on a pound-for-pound basis.

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